Unexpected
by Kam74
Summary: Aaralyn never asked to come to Neverland; she had only been trying to save Henry when she was brought there. Now, on the search for Henry, Aaralyn gets herself involved in more than a healthy amount of trouble, all caused by a certain Peter Pan. Unfortunately for Aaralyn, she has a much higher purpose on the island than just saving Henry. Peter/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I just had an idea for a Pan/ OC Story so I thought that I should write it. :3 I hope you guys like it! :1**

I closed my eyes; breathing in the sweet scent of the ocean while the soft breeze blew through my hair. I had been sitting on the docks all day, unsure of what else I could do. Everyone in town had said that the day had finally come; the day where Storybrooke becomes non-existent, along with all of its inhabitants. I suppose I should have been scared, but I hadn't been; I knew that it would all be okay. There was no way that Storybrooke was done with this world just yet, and considering that it was still here- that we all were still here- I took that to mean that I was right. I believed that Emma would be able to save us with the help of her family, along with Regina and the Dark One.

After staying in the restaurant for a good hour, hoping along with the rest of the town that Emma's plan of using a magic bean to throw the diamond in would work, I had come down here to the docks.

Honestly, I had come here for a little peace and quiet. The town was getting restless, and even when I tried to calm them down, they refused to listen to the words of a seventeen year old. They had said that I was too young to understand the real predicament that we were in. After I heard that, I simply left the town, deciding to wait for the news of either succession or failure by the docks.

I sat down on the edge of the dock, swinging my legs over the edge so that my black converse barely skimmed the surface of the water. I rubbed my hands on my skinny jeans before readjusting my gray t-shirt so that the fabric wasn't twisted from the wind. Sighing, I glanced down at my reflection. Bright green eyes met mine, framed by my natural, shoulder length red, borderline orange, hair. My face was covered with freckles all along the cheeks, and my pink lips were in a concerned line.

Tearing my gaze from my image in the calm water, I looked out at the wide expanse of ocean and cocked my head to the side when I spotted a ship in the distance, turning around. Was that Hook's ship? I stood up, and squinted a little harder, using my right hand to block the sunlight from my eyes.

"What?" I whispered to myself, thoroughly confused. My confusion only increased when I heard yelling farther along the road, getting closer and closer. Reluctantly, I switched my attention from the ship in the distance to the trio swiftly walking along the pier. One of them was the man that had stumbled into our little home-sweet-home by running his car across the barrier, another was the woman that had arrived here for Neal, and the final person was...Henry? I unconsciously took a step closer to them. I couldn't make out the words they were saying, but it looked like the man, Greg, I think, was yelling.

They kept getting closer and closer to me, but they still had no clue that I was witnessing whatever they were doing from only a few yards away. I was about to yell at them to stop, aware that Henry obviously wasn't going with them of his own free will, but as if they could read my mind, they stopped a little ways away from me, staring down at the ocean water. Suddenly, a familiar female voice was shouting from clear down the street. I saw Emma running, her blonde hair flying behind her, followed by her parents and Regina. I felt my hands clench at my side's before I began walking in the direction of Greg, Tamara, and Henry. I was prepared to fight them if necessary; they were kidnapping Henry, and I wasn't exactly going to just let that slide. The idiots.

"HENRY!" Emma yelled at her son. Henry tried to yell back, but Greg made him pay attention to the water.

Tamara suddenly threw a small white object into the ocean before them. I gasped when the ocean opened up, revealing a swirling green portal. I had heard enough stories about portals to different worlds to know that this was one of them. Greg and Tamara were taking Henry to a whole other world?! Why?! Where were they going?

I heard Emma scream after them, and I realized in horror that she wouldn't be able to get to the portal before it disappeared...but I could. I bolted towards Tamara and Greg, sprinting as quickly as I could to try and get to Henry. While I was running, I realized that I could potentially be leaving Storybrooke forever, but I was quickly comforted by the thought that I didn't really have anything to lose.

"Henry!" I yelled after him, picking up the pace. He looked back at me, a scared expression taking over his face.

I watched in horror as Tamara and Greg forced Henry to jump into the portal with them. Things seemed to go in slow motion after that. I made eye contact with Emma, about to jump into the portal. She nodded at me and waved frantically towards where her son had gone.

"Go Aaralyn!" She yelled desperately. Without a second thought, I jumped into the swirling portal, barely making it in time.

I dropped down, roughly landing on someone. The body I had fallen on fell to the ground, cushioning my fall. I rolled off of the form when it began to thrash around. Tamara quickly stood up, glaring at me.

"Who are you?" She asked, keeping her angry brown eyes on me while she brushed the sand off of her clothes. I looked around at our surroundings and tried not to gape. We were on a shore next to a what I presumed to be an ocean in the middle of the night, the moonlight reflecting off of the dark waves. I turned, ignoring Tamara's gaze for a moment while I took it all in. There were trees lined up further up the shore that marked where a large forest seemed to start. Were we in The Enchanted Forest? I looked back to Tamara and took a step towards her.

"Well, who are you?" She asked again. I had the company's full attention. I walked up to her, barely two feet away and held out my hand.

"Aaralyn." I said, calmly. A confused expression began to take form on her face while she almost took hold of my hand. She would've too, if I hadn't balled it into a fist. Without changing my expression, I swung my fist back and landed a punch on Tamara's left eye; I brought my clenched hand back again, prepared to take another shot.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Someone grabbed me from behind before I could throw another punch and threw me to where Henry was, my body hitting the ground. I shakily stood up while Greg helped Tamara rise from the sand. I looked down at Henry.

"You okay?" I asked. He nodded and looked over at Tamara.

"Nice shot." He whispered. I scoffed and glanced down at him, smirking.

"I know."

Greg stomped over to us with Tamara in tow. He scowled at me before he gazed up at our surroundings, finally getting the chance to. Tamara chuckled, covering her left eye with her hand while she looked around. I smiled, content with the fact that I had caused one of the kidnappers pain. Tamara seemed to ignore my gloating expression while she looked back at Greg.

"We made it. Mission accomplished." She smiled. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, you made it to a beach in the middle of nowhere. You guys are so cool." I said dryly. Henry nodded.

"And are you sure you guys really made it?- because my mom's coming to get me. BOTH of them." Henry but out. I smiled at him, but quickly stepped in front of him when Greg got closer to us.

"You know, you might wanna take a look around, kid. Do you see any clock towers?" He made eye contact with me before walking back down to where Tamara was, "You're both a long way from Storybrooke." He said, his vision dancing between Henry and I. I scoffed and Greg's gaze finally settled on me, his brow furrowing.

"It doesn't matter! My family's been to The Enchanted Forest before, and they can get here again." Henry said. I took another look around before putting a hand on Henry's shoulder.

"Henry,I don't think we're in The Enchanted Forest. This doesn't look or feel like home. It's much, darker here." I said, getting a weird feeling inside. Tamara chuckled.

"She's right." I looked up at her.

"Obviously." I stated. She ignored me.

"This is Neverland." I felt my eyes go wide. I had never been to Neverland before, but I knew that it wasn't all that Henry's world had cracked it up to be.

"Neverland? You're here to destroy Neverland?" Henry asked, raising his voice. I let out a single laugh.

"Trust me Henry, these idiots wouldn't even know where to start to destroy Neverland." I assured him. Greg took a threatening step towards us, but I matched that step with my own. Tamara continued on as if me and baldy weren't having a stare off.

"It's the mother load of all magic," she tore her gaze from Henry and began to look around some more, "Where's the communicator? We need to signal the home office." She said. Greg backed down from me and went to the backpack that he had brought with him. He dug around in it before pulling a walkie talkie out.

"Here you go, T." Greg said, handing it over. I felt my eyes widen at their stupidity.

"An office in the jungle, really? Yeah, that's a sound presumption." I said, turning my back to them so that I faced the trees, Henry now on my right side.

"Who works there?" Henry said, sounding just as disbelieving as I was. Greg looked up at that. He swung the pack onto his back and began approaching Henry.

"Who we work for, is not your concern, kid. Just know," he stopped right in front of Henry, swiftly gaining my attention, "that they take care of us." I looked at him angrily, telling him with my eyes to back away from Henry.

"You better hope they take care of you, because I am seriously this close to injuring you." I threatened. Henry continued.

"Can they tell you how to get home, AFTER you destroy magic?" Henry bit out. I smirked at his question.

"We don't ask questions. We just believe in our cause." Greg said, finally backing off.

"Greg?" Tamara spoke up.

"Yeah?" She held out the communicator to him.

"I'm not getting a status light on this thing." She said, worridly. He took it from her swiftly, a concerned look on his face. When he had it in his hands, he seemed to relax a bit.

"Did you check the batteries?" He asked, chalking Tamara's malfunction up to that conclusion. I made eye contact with Henry. He nodded at me before slowly slipping his hand into mine. I didn't know Henry that well, but we had talked a couple times when we had been in Storybrooke. I had always shared his fascination with magic and other worlds. We had talked for a long time. He told me about how he had always known magic was real, something we had in common, and I told him about my time in The Enchanted Forest. I hadn't been anyone really special, just a towns person, but I still had had enough of my own adventures in the forest.

We looked back over to Greg, both of us not really surprised when all that came out of the battery compartment was sand, our expressions being the complete opposite of Tamara's and Greg's.

"What the hell is this?- a toy?" Tamara asked, walking up to the rest of us.

"It's a good thing you guys don't ask any questions." Henry said. I fought the urge to give the kid a high five.

"They just believe in their cause, Henry." I said in a mocking voice. Greg's eyes snapped to me.

"How did you get here with us?" He asked.

"So NOW you ask questions." I stated. He took a threatening step towards me before I just waved him off, "I jumped after you guys. Both of you were so busy with your 'cause' that you didn't even notice me. Honestly, I thought you guys would be less ignorant than that, but I'll take what I can get." I answered, crossing my arms. Tamara looked at me and then Greg.

"What are we going to do with her?" She asked. Greg glared at me.

"Take her with us, I suppose. We can't have her running off and ruining things." He said. I rolled my eyes. Greg pushed me and Henry towards the forest, his jaw set.

"Let's go." I walked towards the forest next to Henry, keeping eye contact with him.

"We'll be fine, Henry." I said to him, his face covered with a strong, but worried, emotion. He didn't say a word back, but he seemed to take in my words. We walked for what seemed like forever, a thick silence hanging over us all. I made sure to take in everything around me, scanning the scenery with my eyes to watch out for any signs of a 'home office'. All I was met with were just plain trees and shrubbery. These guys were being played, that much I knew, because there was almost no way that magic could be taken from Neverland, everyone who was smart knew that.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, we came upon a clearing.

"We'll stop here." Greg said, dropping his pack and immediately grabbing sticks and dried leaves from around him. He carefully stacked them all on top of each other, and made a circle around the pile with stones. I raised an eyebrow in amusement, almost eager to see what they would try next. Greg reached into his bag while Tamara came and stood next to me and Henry. I brushed a piece of my flaming hair away from my eyes and watched as Greg pulled matches out of his bag, about to start a fire. He finally seemed to light the pile of leaves, and he began to give the fire oxygen by blowing on it.

I moved over to a fallen tree and sat down on the makeshift chair, leaning forward so that my elbows were on my knees, unsure of how long we'd be here. Henry took in a deep breath.

"We makin' smores?" He asked. I smiled down at the ground, keeping in the laugh that wanted to escape. Greg looked up at Henry warily.

"No. We're making a signal." He stood up and brushed his hands off on his pants, "Help me gather some dry leaves; we need to let the home office know that we're here." I put my head in the palms of my hands. Tamara stepped towards Greg.

"What if that's not enough? What if the empty communicator wasn't an accident?" Tamara asked. I lifted my head up.

"Finally, some logically sound questions." I stood up and crossed my arms. Greg kept his eyes on Tamara.

"Don't let the kids get in your head." He spoke, his voice firm. I rolled my eyes at him and joined Henry by his side again. He looked up at me with his big brown eyes and shrugged slightly.

"She's not; she's the only one really thinking out of the two of you. I'm surprised that you guys haven't asked these questions on the way here." I said.

"They just believe in their cause, Aaralyn." Henry smiled, repeating the words I had said to him earlier. I was about to laugh at that, but was quickly stopped by the sound of rustling just behind where Greg had been making his fire. Henry took a step closer to me. I clenched my jaw when I saw a single figure come out from behind some brush with a brown cloak on, covering most of...his?- features. My eyes darted around as I realized that the figure wasn't alone; a myriad of boys in cloaks began to close in on us from one side, all of them with blank, if not threatening, expressions. Every single one of them looked to be between the ages of 12-18, all of them boys. Greg took a minute, staring at them before he spoke up.

"Who are you?" He asked. The first boy that had walked out of the foliage tilted his head as he kept approaching. From what little light we had from the moon, I could see that he had blond hair and a long scar over his face.

"We're the home office." He stated, as if they should've known from the start. The boy lifted his hands, gesturing at everything around us. "Welcome to Neverland." He said. I tensed up.

"The home office...is a bunch of teenagers?" Tamara asked, incredulously. I took a subtle step back with Henry. Something told me that these guys weren't exactly going to be friendly.

"They're not teenagers," Henry spoke up, earning the attention of everyone, including the 'not teenagers', "They're the lost boys." Henry finished, looking at them in What I could only describe as awe and fear mingled together.

"Look at that." The leader of the boys said. He looked at Henry as though he was some sort of prize. I stepped in front of him, glaring at the head lost boy.

"Why would the lost boys want to destroy magic?" Henry asked from behind me. I nodded.

"Doesn't exactly make sense since magic is the only thing keeping you guys away from a senior citizen's home." I stated.

"Who says we want to destroy magic?" The lost boy asked.

"That was our mission." Greg said, not keeping up with what was happening. I rolled my eyes.

"Greg, keep up. There was no mission! It was a lie...but why lie?" I looked up at the leader, meeting his eyes. He seemed to size me up before answering.

"Because you guys have something that we want. Now, the boy, hand him over." He said, looking at Henry. I stared at the leader.

"I'm going to just come straight out and say no." I said. The lost boy glared at me before I continued, "Get used to disappointment." I said. Tamara stepped in front of me and Henry.

"And you won't be getting him until you tell us the plan, for magic, for getting home." She said. The lost boy smirked, his attention jumping from me to Greg. His face had a joking quality to it, a sign that what he was about to say wasn't going to be very good for us.

"You're not getting home." I was right; most definitely not good news for us. Greg stepped towards the boy.

"Then you're not getting the boy." Greg said. The lost boy looked down, chuckled, and then looked back up at Greg.

"Of course we are." He said. I met eyes with him again.

"That's a terribly ambitious thing for you to say." I bit out, noticing how he looked almost too smug. He didn't even get the chance to reply before a loud roar echoed across the forest, the tone of it sounding more ominous than anything I had been expecting. I looked up in the direction that I assumed the sound came from and froze. Flying down towards us was a large black mass in the shape of a person with two glowing orbs as eyes. I took a step back, pushing Henry back too. The shadow swept down towards Greg and began ripping another black form away from Greg's body. My eyes widened when I realized that...it was ripping out his shadow. We all watched as Greg's body fell to the floor..dead. Tamara turned towards me and Henry.

"Run!" She said, pushing us away. I didn't need to be told twice. I shoved Henry in front of me and we ran deeper into the forest, not even looking behind us to see if the lost boys were close. I could tell that they were gaining on us from the rustling of the the plants around us.

"Faster Henry!" I yelled. He began to sprint, his breaths coming out in loud rasps. We ran past countless trees and bushes, never stopping for air. I dared a look behind us and saw that there were no lost boys following us on the trail. I grabbed Henry by the arm, pulling him into some bushes off of the main path.

"Listen, I'm going to lead them away from you, and you're going to keep running, alright?" I asked him, trying to pound this suggestion into his head. Honestly though, it was happening whether he liked it or not.

"No! We can't split up!" He said. I sighed and put my hands on Henry's shoulders while we were crouched down.

"It's the only way you'll have a chance to escape, and I'm willing to take that risk if it means you'll be safe." I said, looking into his eyes.

"But what if they capture you? Then they'll still come after me!" He said, trying his hardest to stay quiet.

"They'd catch us a lot faster if we were together. Besides, I know that you'll be able to get away. I can handle a couple of those guys, no problem." I said. I had been taught to fight by my father when I was younger; he had always been paranoid that I'd be taken away from him one day...but in reality, he was the one taken away from me. "Come on Henry, I believe in you." I said, gazing into his eyes. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath.

"Okay. Promise you'll be okay?" He asked. I smiled and hugged him, being careful of his tied wrists.

"I promise. Now, go! I think they're getting closer." I said, listening. Sure enough, I heard the sounds of shouts and rustling approach us. I pushed Henry out of the bush and back onto the path, with me right behind him. He looked back at me one more time before continuing on down the path, his little legs carrying him as fast as they could. I watched him run away, keeping my gaze on him until he disappeared completely. I stalled in the middle of the path until I heard the cries of the lost boys, the sound loud enough that I knew that they'd be able to see me soon. I didn't want them to know I was alone, so I pushed my hands in some foliage, making it look like my hands were shoving someone in them.

"Go Henry!" I yelled at the air before me right as I jumped into the brush, pretending to follow him into the forest. I continued running, comforted by the fact that the lost boys were actually following me. They must've fallen for it. I didn't stop until I reached a large clearing. Seeing that I couldn't really put this off any longer, I turned around, smiling at the seven boys that appeared in the clearing right after me. The main one looked around frantically.

"You tricked us!" He accused me. I took a step towards him.

"Yup." I dropped to the floor and swung out my legs, knocking three of them to the hard ground, including the main one. They grunted as their bodies roughly landed on one another's. The other four lost boys looked at me in surprise before making the impression that they were going to tackle me. I rolled out of the way of two boy's bodies as they crashed down on the spot where I had been only moments before. The two still standing stepped towards me, hard looks in their eyes. I quickly swung my foot up and kicked one of them in their manhood, making him wheeze out a breath before dropping on top of the first three guys I had knocked down, sending them all back to the floor. I quickly stood up and swung my fist at the last guy's face. He dodged and landed a blow on my stomach. I bent over, clutching my middle.

"Good shot." I said to him before standing up to my full height again. I brought my foot up, and kicked him in the middle, returning the favor. He flew back a few feet from the force of my blow and I took the opportunity to look down at the two guys that had crashed into each other when they tried to tackle me. I reached down and grabbed them by the hair, crashing both of their heads together until their bodies didn't struggle against my grip anymore. Two knocked out, only five to go. I brought my attention to the other five. The one that I had kicked in his manly area was being tossed off of the first three and the one I had barely kicked in the middle was...my eyes widened. I ducked, barely missing getting hit in the head with a long wooden stick. I grabbed the stick and tugged, yanking it from his grasp. I did exactly as he did and swung it as his head, only I was successful. He dropped to the floor, out cold. Four more. I swung the staff in the air, facing the now standing, remaining lost boys. The one with the scar shot me a dirty look. I looked down at the fallen three boys and then back up at the last ones.

"Who's next?" I asked, sounding a lot more confident than I really was. The main lost boy had a freaking club for crying out loud. His mouth twisted into a sneer.

"Get her." He said. The three lost boys that weren't the leader ran towards me at the same time.

"Not exactly a fair fight." I breathed out, ignoring the smirk that had taken residence on Scar face's face. I held out the staff in front of me, not making a single move until all three boys came into range. When they finally did, I lashed out, swinging the staff so that it hit two boys in the face, stalling their approach. While they were distracted, I turned towards the boy I hadn't hit. I ran towards him. It probably looked like we were just going to crash into each other, but at the last moment, I dropped to the ground, sliding beneath his legs so that I was behind him. I brought the staff up to his head and knocked him to the ground. Three more. I let out a breath and used the staff to drop another boy onto the ground by swinging it at his feet. I quickly rolled on top of him, straddling his legs while I brought my fist down onto his face, bringing yet another boy down. Two more. I stood, narrowly avoiding the fist of the last lost boy that wasn't a leader. He kept continuing to advance on me until I was backed up against a tree. He kneed me in the stomach, adding onto the pain that I still had from the first punch I received. Glaring at the boy, I brought my head down so that it crashed onto his nose, sending him to the ground, out cold. One more.

"Not bad, for a girl." He said nonchalantly, seemingly unimpressed with my performance. I let out an unamused laugh.

"Well, I try my best." I said, sarcasm dripping from my words. He brought his club down off of his shoulders and let it hang by his side.

"Too bad that won't be enough..." He trailed off.

"Aaralyn." I stated. He smirked.

"Felix." He answered. I rolled my eyes.

"I actually didn't care to know your name, but that's okay I guess." I said, suddenly running towards him. He stayed put in his place, waiting patiently. Finally, when I reached him, he brought his club down, about to hit me. I quickly raised my wooden staff to block the blow but ended up hearing a loud crack. I looked to my staff and saw that it was split in two. My eyes went wide and I dodged to the left, barely missing getting my head smushed into jello. Felix spun towards me and lunged tackling me to the ground. I looked up at him, seeing an evil look take over his face before his fist swung towards my face. I immediately felt my brain rattling around in my skull.

"Looks like you'll be coming with us." I heard him say. It was the last the thing I heard before everything went black.

**That's all for chapter one! Be sure to follow, favorite, review, and all that jazz. **

**You're all attractive and I love you! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh my gosh you guys...I never expected this story to get so much love in such a short amount of time! I almost cried from happiness. Seriously, you're all amazing. I LOVE YOU ALL. Anyways, I'm ****guessing**** I'll normally update once a week. I've already written a few chapters in advance, so there shouldn't be any delays. :)**

**I just want to tell everyone now that Peter WILL NOT be Rumple's dad in my fic, because I really hated that. It was just...ew. So, I also wanted to say that this story will be taking place over a longer time period than in the show AND I'll be adding my own stuff. So, yup! I hope you guys like this chapter! :3 **

"Wake up." I sprung up as I felt cold water splash over my face. I spit it out of my mouth, coughing while trying to get air into my lungs. My hands came up and rubbed the water out of my eyes so that I could see. My vision slowly began to focus, getting over the blurriness that the water had caused. I looked up and saw Felix standing over me. Taking a quick look around, I saw that we weren't in the first clearing anymore, but rather in a different clearing that had a large fire burning in the middle of it. As far as I could see, we were the only ones here. I quickly stood, glaring at Felix.

"I'm stuck here with you?!" I asked, frantically looking around for any other signs of other lost boys, let alone any other living thing. He chuckled.

"No, the others are off hunting and gathering firewood. I was the one who got volunteered to watch over the new nuisance." He said, glaring at me with nothing but contempt in his eyes. I took a step back from him, looking around some more.

"So you guys live here?- Because..." I started, looking around, unimpressed by the little amount of space this clearing provided. Felix rolled his eyes.

"Obviously not." He said. I met his eyes, keeping a skeptical look on my face while continuing on as if he hadn't interrupted.

"Because I'm not sure if all of you living this close to one another could be considered sanitary." I said, "It's kinda gross, really." I said. Felix raised both of his eyebrows at me as I sat back down on the floor, my back leaning against a tree. Felix crouched down so he was at my level, giving me a good view of his features up close. He had to be my age, maybe a little older.

You're in big trouble, you know." He stated. I calmly closed my eyes, letting him know that I wasn't really worried.

"Who's going to get me in trouble? You? No offense, but you're not exactly threatening, despite the fact that you knocked a poor, defenseless girl to the ground." I said, faking a very hurt, feminine voice.

"After you knocked out six others." He pointed out. I chuckled.

"Yeah, that was kinda awesome, wasn't it?" I asked, proud of myself. I'm not usually able to fend off that many people, but I guess when adrenaline is pumping through your veins, anything's possible. Felix ignored me.

"Besides, it's not me who's getting you into trouble; it's someone far worse." He said, standing up. I kept my eyes closed.

"Oh yeah? Who?" I asked.

"Peter Pan, and trust me when I say, that he is not pleased with you." He said.

"And why is that?" I asked, meeting Felix's dark gaze. He once again crouched down to my height.

"Because you ruined his little experiment with Henry." He said. My head snapped in his direction when he said Henry. Was he alright?

"What do you mean, experiment?" I asked.

"You see, girl," he said, avoiding the use of my real name, "Peter needs something. He needs the heart of the truest believer, and he was about to test and see if Henry was, in fact, that person who possessed such a heart. Unfortunately, because you...tricked us, we were unable to perform our role in the plan, leaving Peter with no way to pull off his plan. Therefore, he had to reveal himself to Henry and now they're both here."

"You brought Henry here?!" I asked, feeling my spirit deflate, but I quickly covered up that expression with rage. Felix chuckled darkly.

" Not me personally, but yeah. You see, he has a big role to play, one that requires him to be here with us, and while your plan worked, it won't really make a difference in the end. The plan can still be recovered. Unfortunately," he said, sounding anything but, "I can't say the same for you. You've really gotten yourself onto Peter's bad side." He said smugly. I shrugged, feigning indifference.

"Good for me. Now, let me tell YOU something." I said, scooching closer to Felix, feeling my green eyes practically spark with what I could only assume was anger, "Henry's family is coming, and whether they save me or not is debatable, but you can be damn sure that they'll be coming for Henry. They'll save him, and THEN we'll see how well your plan works out without him." I said, standing up once again, followed by Felix. We had a stare off, surrounded in complete silence before he finally spoke up.

"We'll see if they come. Either way, you're pretty much stuck here. What are you going to do then?" He asked.

"Fight all of you until Henry and his family can make a clean escape. Then, I suppose I'm stuck here," I said, not really caring. I would make sure that Henry got away from these lost boys if it was the last thing I did, which, considering all of the lost boys' weapons, it very well could be. Add the wrath of Pan on there and I'm pretty much toast, but that wouldn't really matter if their plans were ruined, "but let's get something clear. Henry's family WILL come for him, and it'd do you a lot of good to remember that." I said. Felix sighed and took a step away from me, his back now towards me.

"You have far too much hope in them," He said, turning back in my direction, "Pan has a lot more power than you think, and it'd do YOU good to remember THAT." He said, throwing my own words back at me. I scoffed.

"He sounds horrible and rude," I stated, "yet you talk about him with pride in your voice. Tell me, what makes him so special, huh? Is it because he keeps all of you here, in a land where you'll never age?" I asked, getting in Felix's face. He stared me down.

"It's nothing like that. Peter gave us all a family when we had none, not that you'd know anything about that. Now, I think it'd only be fair to warn you that whatever Pan wants, he gets. End of story." He said. I laughed.

"Gee, thanks for the fair warning. So Peter kidnaps other boys AND he also acts like a spoiled child? He sounds charming, a true leader." I said. My face suddenly flipped to the left from the force of Felix's fist. I slowly reached up to my bottom lip, feeling something warm trickle down my chin. I came away with a dark red liquid on the tips of my fingers. He gave me a split lip. I met eyes with him before snarling and tackling him to the ground. He let out a sound of surprise, his back smacking the hard dirt floor. I punched him on the face repeatedly until he rolled over, my back on the floor. We continued this pattern for a while: roll, punch, roll, punch until a voice sounded out.

"Felix! Cut it out, we got the boy." We both looked up to see another lost boy standing there, an amused expression on his face. Felix threw me off of him, my back hitting the tree I had leaned on earlier. He stood up and approached the boy.

"We got Henry back to the camp?" Felix asked. The other boy smirked.

"Well, we didn't, but Pan did. Did you ever doubt him?" He asked. Felix smiled and I almost wanted to gag at his disgusting expression. Happiness doesn't exactly work for him. He reached out and ruffled the other boy's hair.

"Not for a moment, Devin. We're close." Felix said happily. Devin slapped Felix on the back in a brotherly fashion.

"I know. Now come on, we have to make Henry feel at home; Pan's going to be here any moment." Devin looked down at me, "You are in so much trouble though." He said, his expression going from pure joy to contempt in a matter of seconds.

"So I've been told." I said, glaring at Felix while wiping the blood off of my lip by using my arm.

"What do we do with her?" Felix asked, his hatred of me evident just by the way he voiced his question, as if I was some dead rat in the middle of the floor. Devin clicked his tongue.

"Pan said that he doesn't want her at the celebration tonight; he said that she's to be moved away from the camp." Devin said. I groaned.

"But Felix already worked so hard to get me here." I said in the most whiny voice I could muster. Felix stared at me for a minute with a blank expression before turning back to Devin.

"Yeah, she goes." He said. I glared at him.

"And I thought we were just starting to get along." I said, sighing out my words. He scowled at me before pulling a piece of cloth out of his pocket.

"Peter will deal with you when he gets the chance to; be lucky you're getting a small break before talking to him because," he leaned down closer to me and tied the cloth around my eyes. I didn't bother fighting him, knowing that if I fought back, they'd probably do more than just blindfold me. Felix continued talking, "if you think you hate me, you're going to LOATHE Pan." He said. I didn't answer, getting the feeling that he was probably right. I grunted as I felt myself being lifted up and heaved onto someone's shoulder, most likely Felix's.

"Where does he want her to be taken?" Felix asked. I turned in the direction that I presumed Felix was talking in.

"Yes, where does he want me to be taken?" I asked, being only partially sarcastic.

"He said he wanted her to be taken to the clearing where we found her." Devin said. I felt Felix nod right next to my middle. I sighed.

"If I'm going to be taken back on someone's shoulders, can it be Devin's? I have less of a problem with him." I said. Felix scoffed

"He's gotta be around two years younger than you. You think a fifteen year old could carry you?" He asked. I smiled.

"You guys are on Neverland, where NO ONE ages. I have a feeling Devin here is a lot older than fifteen, so yes, I do think he can carry me." I said. I knew that Devin would be able to carry me even if he was really fifteen. I didn't weigh a lot; in fact I was pretty slim so it's not like my weight would be a problem. I heard Felix sigh and then I went from being hung over one person's shoulder to a different one. I grinned in the direction I thought Felix was.

"Thank you." I said. I could practically feel his eyes roll.

"Just take her away Devin." Felix said.

"Sure thing." Devin said, adjusting me on his shoulder before he began to walk. I waited for around ten minutes, making sure that we were away from Scar face.

"So, Devin, how'd you get here in Neverland?" I asked.

"Pan brought me."

"Care to expand?"

"Not really." He said, effectively cutting off the conversation. I sighed and waited for a long time before I was suddenly dropped onto the floor. I ripped off my blindfold, looking up at Devin.

"A warning would've been nice." I snapped at him.

"Well, you'll find, I'm not a particularly nice person. Now, stay here until Pan can come and deal with you." He ordered, walking away. I sat there, alone for the longest time, bored out of my mind. In that time, I took the opportunity of quiet to think. I had jumped in the portal after Henry, witnessed a guy get killed, ran away from some lost boys, fought some lost boys, got knocked out, and then dragged back to where this trouble all pretty much began all in the span of one day.

Finally, my thoughts drifted to Henry. I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I had told him that I believed he'd be able to get away, and he had, at least from the lost boys, but Peter Pan had somehow caught him. More tears poured down my cheeks. What did they want from him? Why did they need him?- he was only a boy. His family was probably worried sick, and they were counting on me to save him, or at least get him back to them. I had practically made a promise to Emma that I would get him back the moment I met her eyes as I was about to jump into the portal after Henry. I sighed, my breath coming out shakily. I had to get him back. I quickly stood up and began walking in the direction I had seen Devin go, furiously wiping the tears away from my face.

After what seemed like hours, I still had no clue which direction to go to get back to what I assumed was Pan's camp. Devin hadn't left a trail, not even a footprint. I groaned in frustration as I continued wandering aimlessly. I wasn't going to give up just because I couldn't find the way, but this was getting tedious. I sat down on the ground, deciding to stop for a moment just to catch my breath. When my head hit the ground, I closed my eyes, deciding to take a small reprieve from the search for Pan's camp and Henry.

I don't know how long I lied there, but after a few moments, I sprung back up when I heard a collective cheer close by. No way. Could I really be that close? I stood up cautiously, feeling my legs begin to shake from exhaustion. I ignored the feeling in my legs, setting my sights in the direction that I had heard the cheer come from. It had to be nearby, the still existing cheers proved that, but I found it hard to believe. How could I have stumbled this close to the camp, right when I was about to take a rest. Had it been a coincidence? I scoffed, but continued on walking, trying to be as quiet as I possibly could.

Soon, I approached a line of bushes that seemed to be glowing. I raised an eyebrow and crouched down, gently pushing aside the bushes to see the source of the glowing. A large fire was burning, small tendrils of flames reaching towards the sky. All of the lost boys were dancing around it, crying out and whooping loudly. I was confused by their behavior, but their actions became second on my attention list when I set my gaze on something familiar. I smiled when I saw Henry sitting on a log, not far from me. As quietly as I could, I put the bushes back into place, praying that no one had seen me. I creeped over to some plants that were exactly behind Henry, his back stiff and tense. I couldn't blame him, this 'party' seemed a little too intense.

"Henry." I whispered. He looked around, his face surprised when he didn't see anyone.

"Henry, look behind you." I whispered even quieter. I was still behind the brush, but with my flaming hair, I knew he'd be able to see me through the green leaves. He did as I said and glanced back, his eyes settling on me.

"Aaralyn!" He whispered quietly, grinning from ear to ear. I smiled back.

"Hey, how you holding up?" I asked, a concerned tone taking over my voice. If they had hurt him I swear...

"I'm fine. You need to get out of here." He said, looking into my eyes. I looked at him with a shocked expression.

"What? Why?" I asked. He looked around him, making sure that no one was there or listening in.

"You've got to find my family, tell them where I am. I'm sure they're here, they've gotta be." He answered, sounding unsure of himself. I smiled at him, hoping to give him a little comfort.

"I have a feeling they are. They'd never give up on you, so don't stop believing in them. No matter what." I told him. He nodded and waved me away.

"Now go!" He whisper shouted at me. I looked around, indecisively.

"But if you come with me, we can both find your family." I tried to persuade him. Why didn't he want to leave?

"No. I can't. If I do, then Pan will target you too." He said. I could tell that wasn't the only reason why, but I didn't want to push him. I scoffed.

"From what I've been told, he's already after me. I've apparently pissed him off." I said. Henry laughed, but quickly went from laughing to a serious expression.

"Get out of here, Aaralyn. You've got to find my family and tell them I'm safe." He said. I nodded, unsure of whether or not I really should leave him here.

"Besides," he continued, "Pan would notice that I'm gone and he'd be able to find us in a matter of seconds. It'd almost be useless to try and run." He said dejectedly. A concerned feeling took over me.

"Hey," I said, making him look me in the eyes, "it wouldn't be useless. We could've at least said that we tried." I pointed out. Henry nodded, sadly.

"I guess you're right," his eyes began to water, but he didn't let a single tear fall, "but I don't want to take any chances." He said. I looked down at the ground, knowing that he was right.

"Fine, but I'll come back for you Henry." I promised him. He smiled and slowly turned back towards the direction of the large fire with dancing lost boys circling it. I sighed. I fought the urge to just grab the back of Henry's shirt collar and just drag him along with me; I didn't want him trapped here longer than necessary.

I had no clue on what to do next. I knew that I had just promised Henry that I'd find his family, but I was unsure of where to even start looking for them. For all I knew, they could be on the whole other side of the island. I slowly stepped back from the shrubbery that surrounded Pan's camp and turned around, heading back into the forest, my hands clenched into fists while breaking into a run. I had to find Henry's family; he depended on me, but I wasn't sure exactly how long it'd take to find them. It could already be too late by the time I found them. I closed my eyes at the thought. No. I wouldn't believe that; I refused to believe that.

Countless leaves brushed my face as I passed through the seemingly endless amount of plants in the forest. I walked for a long time, trying to ignore the lingering thought in the back of my mind that said I'd never succeed; that said Henry wouldn't make it out of this and he'd never be reunited with his family. I didn't want that for him. He didn't deserve that kind of fate. I glanced both left and right, looking around to make sure that I wasn't being followed by anyone..or anything. There was something about Neverland that made me feel far more paranoid than I should.

I headed back in the direction of the clearing I had been dropped in by Devin earlier, deciding that I'd be able to find the shore if I were to retrace my steps back to when I had arrived here with Greg, Tamara and Henry.

Finally, I walked straight into the middle of the large clearing, trying my best to avoid the two dead bodies on the floor, one of them shadowless, and the other just...dead. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with Tamara, but I could tell by her vacant stare that she wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

My body suddenly felt too heavy for my legs to carry, my exhaustion taking over the rest of my body. I collapsed on the floor, being sure to move away from the dead bodies before lying down for a moment, taking in a deep breath. Surprisingly, I wasn't hungry or thirsty, just...tired. I scooched across the ground until my head hit the body of a tree. I slowly lifted myself up so that my back was up against the tree, in the exact position that I had been in at Pan's camp. I let out a breath and moved a piece of my hair out of my face, deciding to close my eyes for a moment, but refusing to fall asleep. I honestly didn't know why I was so tired. I sighed and let my eyes flutter shut, entertaining my mind with the thoughts that wouldn't leave me alone so that I wouldn't doze off.

Just like I had expected, I didn't keep my eyes closed for long, I couldn't risk the chance that I'd fall asleep, but it seemed that those few minutes of keeping my eyes shut made me feel as though I had taken a long power nap; I didn't feel nearly as tired as I had before.

"What is up with this island?" I asked, talking to myself while I slowly raised myself up off of the ground, moving past the two fallen bodies to go in the direction that the shore was. If I could get to the shore, there would at least be a possibility that I'd see Henry's family approaching the island. I headed back down the trail through the plants that I believed would lead me to where Henry and I had arrived on this island.

THIRD PERSON P.O.V.

Henry watched Aaralyn, fighting the need to call her back; to tell her that he would run with her. He sighed as her red hair bounced up and down as she ran away from the campsite, hopefully in search of his family...if they were even here. He had done what had to be done to keep her safe from Pan, and he could only hope it had been enough.

From across the campsite, two boys were standing before the fire, behind the dancing bodies of the other boys, watching Henry immediately slip into a depressed mood as the girl ran away, not looking back. The blond with a scar on his face turned to the other boy.

"Are you sure we should've let her go? She could cause trouble." Felix said, looking at his leader. Pan just crossed his arms across his chest, keeping his focus on Henry.

"What could she possibly do? She's just a girl, and even if she does cause trouble, we'll just drag her back here and hide her from Henry. He'll never know."

"Then what was the point of even telling Henry to tell Aaralyn to leave?" Felix asked. Peter chuckled.

"I told him to tell her to leave because if she stays here, then she'll give him hope, BUT if we make him believe that she's out there looking for his family, then it'll make it easier to bring him down." He explained.

"But if Henry thinks she's out there looking for his family, won't THAT give him more hope too?" Pan looked at Felix with an incredulous expression. How could he not get it through his thick skull?

"Not when he finds out that when she couldn't find his family, she gave up. She came to me, begging for a way home, and since, she really won't be playing a part in this, I let her leave." Peter explained, looking expectantly at Felix, waiting for him to catch on. Felix immediately smirked.

"So we're going to make him believe that she gave up on him...oh that's good... but you're not really going to let her leave, are you?" Felix asked while smiling, already knowing the answer. Pan grinned.

"Of course not. She could be useful, if only for a little, but first, I want to see what she's capable of. She did, after all, singlehandedly take out SIX of my lost boys, and in the process ended up ruining my test for Henry." He said, glaring in Felix's direction furiously.

"We didn't expect to be tricked; she's just a girl." Felix tried to explain. Pan shook his head, humorlessly chuckling.

"Always expect a surprise, Felix. I've trained you all well enough for you to be able to get that into your skull." Peter finished, walking past the dancing boys and over to Henry. He sat down on the log next to him, trying to meet his eyes.

"You did the right thing Henry; she wouldn't be able to understand your mission, and soon, you'll see your family isn't here. She'll be proof of that." Peter said in a low voice, working the doubts into Henry's mind. It'd be so easy to bring his hopes down of his family if he heard that Aaralyn hadn't succeeded. Henry glared at Peter.

"She'll find them, you'll see, and then you're going to have to deal with all if them, including Aaralyn." Henry said angrily, refusing to believe that someone he loved as a friend would just let him down. Aaralyn would never break her promise. Even if she didn't find his family, she promised him that she would come back for him, and Henry held onto that hope...but he couldn't help but feel that this would all end badly. What if Aaralyn got hurt or lost...or what if she died? Henry shuddered, he didn't want to even entertain that thought. Pan looked at Henry, with what almost could've been described as pity.

"That's what all the lost boys here thought Henry; they thought their family would come, but they never did. So now, we're all each other's family; we take care of each other." Peter said, putting his hand on Henry's shoulder, but Henry immediately brushed it off. Pan's face went from pity to anger in a matter of seconds.

"You don't believe me? Fine, we'll see who's right soon enough Henry." Peter said coldly, standing from the log and walking back over to Felix. Henry sighed and looked down at the ground. What if Pan was right? What if Aaralyn failed? Henry slowly felt some of his belief in Aaralyn and his family slip away at the thought.

Unfortunately for Henry, Pan could practically feel his sadness from across the camp, where he had resumed his spot next to Felix. He smiled.

"It's only a matter of time Felix." Pan said, looking intently at the boy. Felix adjusted.

"Unless Aaralyn does succeed." Pan scoffed and turned towards Felix, fire burning in his eyes.

"Have you more faith in her than you do in me Felix? Would you like to change sides?" He asked angrily. How could Felix even think that he would fail; there was no way his plans were going to be stopped by a measly girl. Peter let his gaze burn into Felix's, daring him to answer. It wasn't even possible for the girl to succeed; he'd stop her long before then. Felix blinked and then broke out into a smile.

"Never. I like to stay on the winning side." He said. Pan let out a chuckle, knowing that what his friend said was true; he would win, somehow. They watched in content silence as the rest of the lost boys danced around the large bonfire, knowing that soon Henry would join them. Felix let his mind wander, finding a question in it that he didn't have an answer to.

"So how exactly are we going to test her?" He asked, not really caring but still curious. He loathed the girl, honestly. Pan put on his signature smirk.

"By throwing a few things her way; this island could practically be considered a test all on its own, but I have something a lot bigger in mind." He said, leaving it at that. Felix nodded, seemingly satisfied by the answer provided. Pan stared at the wide expanse of forest, knowing that soon he'd have to check on the girl before he'd be able to sleep that night. He wasn't concerned with her; not even in the slightest, but he wanted to see how far she had gotten. He smiled when he thought of the trouble he had in store for the annoying girl; she'd certainly need a lot of skill to get out of what he had planned. He let out a sigh, already imagining her face, though he had yet to see it, frozen in a state of shock. All he knew about her was that she had red hair; you'd have to be blind to miss that running through the woods, but Pan wanted to see more; Pan wanted to see how strong she was, what her limits were, and he was completely ready to show off his own strength in the process. He was ready to start the game, but, he happily thought, he couldn't say the same for Aaralyn. She'd never see it coming. Peter smirked.

"Let's play."


	3. Chapter 3

**You guys...I couldn't resist updating after tonight's episode. It hit my feels SO HARD. Ugh. Anyway, thank you guys so much; you all make me want to do backhand springs off of a giant platform into a pit of happiness and joy. XD Seriously though, thanks you guys. All your reviews make me blush, and even laugh. **

** I LOVE YOU ALL. :P**

AARALYN'S P.O.V.

I pushed through the final leaves of the bush that was separating me from the shore, reveling in the feeling of an ocean breeze as I finally made my way past the last plant. I tentatively stepped onto the sand, feeling it adjusting underneath my shoes from my weight. I wasn't sure if I'd really find anything, but the shore was just as good a place as any to start searching. I looked both left and right, not really expecting to find anything or see anyone. When I saw that nothing was on the shore except for sand and various sea plants, I continued on, walking along the shore of Neverland.

The ocean was just as inky black as it had been when I arrived, but this time it had an almost ominous feeling surrounding it. Although it unsettled me, I kept going, furiously searching the waves and shore for any sign of The Charming family. The sounds of the forest echoed throughout the night, providing me with more sounds than just the rushing of water. At one point I had been convinced that I had even heard roaring, but I quickly brushed it off as my imagination.

I had no clue how long I had been walking along the shores, but it was long enough that I was almost convinced that I had circled the entire island. Multiple times. I groaned and sat down on the sand, threading my fingers through my hair and closing my eyes. I had known this was going to take a long time. It's not like I would've walked to the shore, and boom!- There would be Henry's family, but it was still disheartening to think of just how long it COULD take to find Emma. I sighed and brought my knees up to my body, resting my head on them. I had to do this for Henry. It was all he had asked of me, and I wasn't anywhere close to being ready to give up on my search OR to give up on him. I directed my face up at the sky, eyes still closed.

"Why can't they just be around the corner?" I asked myself, knowing that I wouldn't be able to find a definite answer to my own question because for all I knew, they could already be making their way up the shore in an area that I had already passed. I put my head back onto my knees, knowing that I'd have to get up soon and keep searching, yet I still wasn't ready to end my rest here.

I looked up in surprise when I felt something wet trickle inside of my shoe, effectively soaking my socks. I felt my face twist in confusion when I saw that it had been ocean water that had made its way into my footwear, the darkish hue of the water being unmistakable. I moved my attention to the ocean, wondering how ocean water could've possibly gotten into my shoe when I was a good few yards away from the water. My eyes widened at what I saw and I sprung up from the sand, taking a few disbelieving steps back. The ocean had risen further up the shore, slowly creeping forward in a way that made it so I couldn't blame the sudden distance change of the water on it just being the tide. There was no way that it could really be explained by anything. I backed up further from the increasing line of water, jumping a little when my back made contact with a plant that marked the beginning of the forest. How could the ocean have even come out this far?

My gaze shifted from the water lapping at my feet to the sudden sound of rushing water coming from further out in the ocean, and I slowly lifted my head to get a better view of what exactly had caused the booming sound. I felt fear grip my heart to the point where I found it hard to breathe. A large wall of water, like that of a small tsunami, was gliding towards the island, quickly picking up speed as it got nearer and nearer. I looked at the tsunami heading in my direction, too afraid to move before I looked out at the rest of the ocean. The water around the approaching wave was completely calm, as if nothing was wrong. I stared at the wave incredulously. How could the wall of water only be covering one section of the ocean? It didn't seem possible, yet the single wave was racing towards me, and only me, apparently deciding the rest of the island wasn't really worth it's time.

The wave roared, signalling that it was close enough for me to be worried about it. Suddenly finding the will to move my legs away from the danger, I turned around, running into the forest to try and escape the small tsunami. The wave seemed to have other plans in mind. I screamed as I felt the water literally grab at my ankles, getting a firm grip on them, almost as though they had hands, before tugging me back to the ocean. I dropped to the floor from the force of the ocean's pull and instantly began groping around with my hands, searching for anything I could grab onto to try to fight against the ocean's crushing grasp. I tried to anchor myself by holding onto some plants, but the force of the ocean pulled me away hard enough so that the plants simple broke, leaving me with no way to try and save myself from the dark water.

When I was pulled out of the forest and back onto the shore, I flipped my body around so that I was facing the ocean, wanting to see what it looked like now. The large tsunami was eerily still, the only movement coming from the two streams of water that were branching out from the body of the wave, gripping my ankles. My heart stopped for a moment as I realized that I was about to be dragged INTO this big wave. I frantically tried to dig my fingers into the ground, but it was useless; my fingers only kept slipping through the now damp sand. I was suddenly raised into the air by my ankles, now convinced that the ocean really did have a grip on me like normal hands would.

I screamed as I was thrown high up into the air, hearing the sound of my voice echo all around me; it was the only sound I could hear above the water. My body was thrown far behind the large wave. With every foot I flew higher, I was also thrown one more foot away from the island and further out in the direction of the ocean. I flailed my arms around as I began the decent towards the waves that had followed the large one. I barely had time to suck in one last breath of oxygen before my body smacked the ocean surface, submerging me in its depth. I felt my body scream in pain, but my will to survive took over, my feet and arms working together to try and get back to the surface of the water. I wasn't exactly what one would call an avid swimmer, in fact, I've probably got the skill of an older toddler, but I couldn't think of anything except for the air that my lungs needed that waited just beyond the surface.

Finally, I swam all the way back to where water met air, struggling to keep myself afloat. I gasped in a breath of air, but the victory of coming up was short-lived. The sound of more rushing water brought my air gulping to an end. I looked to my left in the direction of the island and saw the tall wave, still standing there in a threatening wall that made me want to just up and fly away. Although we were on Neverland, I didn't think flying away would be an option for me. The wave seemed to turn towards me so that the wall of water was aimed in my direction. I stared at in horror as it suddenly went limp, the humongous wave suddenly dropping. The water from the wave rushed over to me, menacingly gaining speed as it came, not seeming to lose any height. The water ran over me, pushing my head forcefully back underneath its exterior, stealing whatever air I had gained in my lungs. Knowing that it was life or death, I swam my way back up to the surface again, frantically filling my lungs with air before another wave crashed down, sending me even deeper under the ocean.

I was going to die. That was the only thought running through my head as I made my way to the surface again, only to have the process repeated and to find myself back underneath where the air was hidden. I didn't want it to come to that though, so I kept fighting against the waves, despite the number of times I was shoved back down. I tried to fight off the inevitable thought of death by filling my mind with thoughts about escaping and saving Henry from whoever Pan was. I burst through the waves, sucking in more air before being thrown down below the raging waters. My legs were getting tired, a numb feeling spreading through them every time I kicked my way back up. I forced my body to continue fighting; I had made a promise that I didn't intend to break, but right now, surviving didn't seem like a very likely outcome. I had to get out.

I closed my eyes and desperately tried to think of ways I could escape. I felt like a light bulb lit up over my head only seconds later, my mind finally settling on a plan for getting out of the water. All I had to do was keep resurfacing while slowly swimming towards the island when I was submerged again. I would get back to the island eventually, and it seemed like the best shot I had at surviving. Believing that it would work and that I'd escape the waves, I decided on trying it out. I swam my way to the surface, fully prepared to get attacked by the never-ending amount of water, but this time when I got to the surface, I sucked in some air...and floated atop the calmest waters I've ever seen. I gaped at the water around me, marveling at the peacefulness of the ocean. There had been an impenetrable wave of water here only moments ago and now it was suddenly just gone?

I blinked a couple of times, wanting to be sure that I wasn't just going delusional. When my eyes focused, I saw that nothing had changed; the water was still calm and I was still there, bobbing like an apple.

"What!?" I yelled aloud, frustrated, yet relieved at the same time. A wave couldn't have just disappeared. Shaking my head, I slowly began to swim my way back to the shore, cautiously watching the water around me, afraid that it might jump out at me and push me under again. I sucked in deep breaths, making sure that I'd be prepared if another wave were to come. Having the luxury of breathing seemed almost too good to be true. I stroked through the water until I got to where my feet could touch the ground and then collapsed to my hands and knees, crawling the rest of the way to shore, my muscles finally giving up after the strain I had put them through. The adrenaline leaked out of my body almost all at once, leaving me to struggle. I crawled across the shores making my way to the forest to get as far away from the ocean as possible.

I stopped moving when I had crawled a good distance away from the shore, finally relaxing and lying down on the forest floor.

"What was that?" I asked myself, flopping onto my back, looking up at the stars in the sky. I had no clue what I had just happened, but I knew that it had been real; the fact that I was soaking wet was enough proof for that. I rubbed my hands over my eyes and finally started breathing normally, accepting that whatever had happened with that possessed wave wasn't going to happen again, or at least I hoped it wouldn't. I tucked one of my arms underneath my head, giving myself a sort of makeshift pillow to rest on. I sighed and closed my eyes, letting the exhaustion pull me towards the darkness that was waiting for me. Taking one last calming breath, I drifted off.

I sprung awake, an uneasy feeling taking residence in the pit of my stomach. I must've been out a long time because I no longer felt exhausted; quite the opposite actually, I felt like I could run a marathon if I had to. I quickly sat up, using my arms to help raise my to my full height on my feet. The uneasy feeling creeper back into my stomach when I stood, almost intensifying.

"Impressive." A voice said. My head darted to the left in the direction I thought the source of the sound was, but I was met with nothing but empty air.

"You know, I've never thought anyone would've been capable of that, but you certainly are full of surprises, aren't you?- knocking out my boys, and then ruining something I had been planning for a long time. That's not exactly nice." The voice said. The accent of his voice sounded distinctly like a British one, and given the fact that it was a guy's voice, I had a pretty good idea of who it was. I glared to my right, thinking that the sound had come from there, but once again being met with nothing. I turned my face back to where it had been originally and nearly jumped out of my skin. There, leaning on a tree about five feet away was a boy. Well, I guess he couldn't really be considered a boy. He looked to be around a year older than I was, putting him at the age of 18. His hair was a dirty blond, hanging just above his ears, and his bangs were about halfway down his forehead, curling up at the tips. He had on brown and green colored clothes with a belt that went across his waist, a dagger placed in a sheath on the side of the belt. All in all, he wasn't too bad looking, cute even, but I knew who he was and the fact that he took Henry erased all the credibility his looks gave him.

"Pan." I said, glaring at him. He crossed his arms and took a few steps towards me.

"What I want to know, is how you did it."

"Did what?" I asked, not knowing if he was talking about the waves or if he was talking about me beating the lost boys. He narrowed his eyes.

"The waves. How'd you escape my waves?" He asked. I scowled.

"YOUR WAVES?! You caused those?! I almost died!" I yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him. He shrugged.

"That's not important. Now answer my question." He demanded.

"Not import-" I trailed off, shaking my head in anger. I looked up into his olive green eyes; green against green.

"I'm not telling you anything until you tell me what you want with Henry." I said, refusing to give into him so easily. He smirked, looking at the ground before taking another step towards me, his expression going from cocky to serious in a matter of seconds.

"That's none of your business, girl." He said, practically spitting the last word at me. I let out a single breath of laughter.

"I know that you're probably older than dirt, but if we're going by looks, you couldn't be more than a year older than me." I said, trying my best to convince him that I wasn't scared by his presence, when really I was more than a little bit afraid. If this guy could conjure mini tsunamis on command, then that made him pretty dangerous in my book. He kept a straight face, completely devoid of emotion.

"I'm warning you now, don't try to get involved with me and Henry; it could quite possibly be one of the last things you do, and I think it's safe to say that it'd be in your best interest to not get yourself involved in the first place. You've really got no business here anyway."

"Like hell I don't," I said, snapping at him, "I'm going to find Henry's family, and you better hope that they show you some mercy when they come to take Henry away from you." Pan laughed.

"Henry's family will come after me despite whether you find them or not, so really, you're useless here on Neverland." He bit out. I stared at him, not believing a word he was saying about me being useless.

"Then I shouldn't be a problem to you." I said. Peter unfolded his arms, leaning back on the tree behind him, an easy expression on his face.

"You're not, trust me. You're the least of my worries actually, but everyone knows that the smallest of pests can cause the most trouble, and I don't want to have that problem with you." I shook my head, my red hair bobbing around my face, already dry.

"If you think I'll just forget about Henry, then you're seriously mistaken, so get that idea out of your head now." I stated firmly. Peter scoffed.

"Bold words for someone who's practically shaking in their shoes."

"The shaking is from the cold. You did have waves drag me into the ocean and then beat me down, if you remember." I said, glaring at him. He smiled.

"Oh, I haven't forgotten, but since we're back on the topic of the waves," he walked towards me until he was less than a foot away, but I didn't step back. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction, "you need to tell me how you escaped."

"Why do you want Henry?" I repeated. Peter stared down at me, his height putting him around four inches taller than me.

"I'll figure it out eventually, Aaralyn. I always get what I want." He said smugly. I looked away from his eyes, willing to lose the staring contest if it meant he wouldn't glare at me like I was some sort of puzzle.

"Well, there's a first time for everything." I stated, meeting his eyes again. He chuckled.

"Perhaps, but this most definitely won't be that time. No one can keep secrets for long, especially not here in Neverland." Peter said. I backed away from him, putting some space in between us while ignoring his triumphant look. I inwardly smiled. He was going through this whole little speech of his and I honestly had no clue how those waves stopped; I certainly didn't stop them. How could I have?- I was too busy drowning. I scoffed.

"We'll just have to see then." I said. Peter lifted a single eyebrow, creating a perfect arch.

"I guess we will." He said, stepping back but never letting his eyes stray from mine. "We'll just have to see what else you can do since you proved yourself of being able to escape more than one tricky situation." He stated, referencing the water and the fight with the lost boys. I felt my heart drop down to my feet. He threw a water storm at me just to see if I could escape? That's sick.

"I'll be ready." I assured him, putting on a false mask of calm. I knew that whatever Pan was going to throw at me next would have an 89 percent chance of catching me off guard. The tsunami certainly had. He chuckled again, clearly amused by my words.

"Sure you will. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got far more important things to do than sit around and chat." Peter said, slowly levitating off of the ground. I rolled my eyes, not believing him. He smirked at me one more time before turning around and flying off. When he was well out of earshot, I huffed out a breath.

"Cocky idiot." I muttered under my breath. There was no doubt in my mind that I was slightly afraid of the stupid and dangerous leader of the island, but he had just ticked me off. I would never forget Henry because I knew that he needed my help in order for him to get home. I didn't have time to entertain silly notions of me being useless in my mind because I knew Pan was wrong about me...yet I couldn't help but feel like he was right at the same time.

I looked around, unsure of where to go now because I most certainly wasn't going to continue travelling along the shoreline. I think it was safe to say that I would probably be staying away from large bodies of water for a long time. However, if I continued on through the forest, what would Pan throw at me? I sat back down on the ground, trying to clear my head enough to try and rationalize which choice would be the least dangerous.

After racking at my brain for a few minutes, I sighed in frustration, unable to make a decision. Honestly, Neverland would probably throw danger at me no matter which path I took, so I finally just decided to take the forest path, preferring that choice over the shore. Standing up, I began to walk deeper into the forest depths, noticing that things seemed to get greener the further I trekked into the shrubs and wildlife. It certainly looked safe enough...yet I had thought that about the ocean hours before.

I continued on, letting Pan's words seep into my head. He had sounded so convinced that I had been the one to cause the waves to cease when I didn't even understand what had happened out there in the water. I couldn't have caused the waves to stop, there was no way. I sighed, brushing my hair out of my face. He would certainly be disappointed when he found out my secret about the waves was as informative as his own assumptions. I had no clue how they ended, but frankly, I didn't care. I had gotten away and that was all that mattered to me; it meant that I could continue trying to help Henry despite Pan's warnings for me not to get involved.

I moved a giant leaf away from the path, clearing the way so that I could continue on.

"Emma? Snow?" I called out, cupping my hands around my mouth. Unsurprisingly, no answer responded to my calls. I knew that Henry's family would come; they always found each other, but I also knew that Henry was going to run out of time if I didn't hurry up and find Emma and her parents.

"EMMA? SNOW?" I tried again, louder than the first time. Again, no answer. I sighed and continued on, desperately searching through the trees and other shrubbery for any signs of humans having been there. The sky stayed a dark hue, never once getting brighter or darker than it was right now, which was great because the moon provided a sufficient amount of light to see by, but it wasn't enough light where I'd be able to catch every detail thrown my way. I huffed out another puff of air, pushing through more plants in order to try and progress through the forest.

I stopped at yet another clearing, although this one was extremely unfamiliar to me. There were dead leaves all over the ground, all of them in shades of green and brown, much like Pan's clothes. There were various sticks and logs scattered around, giving it the appearance of a former campsite that had been abandoned.

I swiftly turned around when I heard a crashing sound come from behind me.

"Not another one already..." I muttered, not wanting to face another one of Pan's trials. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a wild boar come out from behind the bushes, his eyes not really directed at anything while he sniffed the ground. I sighed and slumped down on one of the logs, running a hand through my hair. It hadn't even been a full two days since I got here and Pan already had me on edge. I was actually grateful for that though, because it meant that I had a better chance of being prepared when his next 'test' did arrive.

"Don't let it get away!" My head shot up and I darted behind one of the trees that marked the edge of the clearing, keeping my back against the trunk of it when I heard the voice. I turned my head slightly to my right, trying my best to get a better view of who had said that. Two boys in brown cloaks came out of the sane foliage that the boar had only minutes ago. Seeing them there, the boar took off, leaving the boys behind. I heard them sigh and the sound of fabric settling over crumpled leaves filled my ears, signalling someone had sat down.

"We'll never catch it at this rate!" The first one yelled out angrily, kicking the floor. The one that was sitting down scoffed and rubbed his temples.

"Not with you yelling like that we won't. Take it down a notch; you're supposed to become one with the forest." He said, "Why do I always get stuck with the newbies?" He asked himself. I peeked around the trunk and saw Devin sitting down on the floor, his face visible from under his hood. The other boy had to only be around 13, his anger radiating off of him in waves.

"This is dumb! If Peter wanted to, he could just catch these animals himself with no trouble at all!" The first boy spat out. Devin rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, he could, which is more than I can say for you, Ryker." He said. Ryker? What kind of a name was that? I held my breath when my grip on the tree trunk behind me slipped, making me take a step to steady for myself. As if this day couldn't get any worse, that one step happened to land on a twig, snapping it in half. The boys ceased talking, the only sound that could be heard was their light breathing. I closed my eyes, gently resting my head against the tree. Maybe they'd brush it off as nothing.

"What was that?" Ryker asked, his voice cracking at the end. I heard Devin stand up and I braced myself to run.

"I don't know. Let's go check it out," he said to Ryker, "but try not to be too loud this time; it could be another animal and the last thing we want to do is go back to Pan empty handed." He finished. I inwardly groaned, the blood running cold in my veins. I felt what could only be described as fear as I heard them step closer. I swallowed as quietly as I could before bracing myself to run. When their footsteps were close enough to me that the crunching of leaves beneath their feet seemed to echo throughout my ear drums, I darted away from the tree, trying my best to push their cries of, 'catch her!' to the back of my mind.

Not feeling up to the task of fighting them, I raked over my green surroundings, looking for any sort of escape. There were trees, sure, but if I were to climb them, I was one hundred percent sure that they'd be able to climb up after me and I'd be in no better position than I was now. Why were they chasing me anyway? I'm pretty sure I hadn't done anything to THEM. I scanned the bushes and area in front of me, frowning when I saw a large rock wall that looked like a completely vertical mountain, the incline of it being too steep to even climb, in front of me, it's surface almost having the appearance of being completely smooth. Plants were still blocking my view of the lower half of the bottom of the mountain, but I assumed that there wouldn't be anything that could help me escape there anyway. I gulped, knowing that I was headed for a dead end without a way to climb up the rocks.

As I got closer and closer to the solid wall, I felt my eyes bulge out of my head. This couldn't be a coincidence. Hidden behind the plants at the bottom of the large stone wall was a small opening that seemed like it just dropped straight down, no light in it whatsoever. It was pitch black in there, and that made me hesitant to take the chance of escape. Looking behind me, I realized that I really didn't have any other choice but to go down into the small hole; they wouldn't be able to follow me through it, that much was guaranteed. I looked up at the sky and closed my eyes, knowing that this whole situation had to have something to do with Pan because there was no way that an escape would just coincidentally present itself.

"I hate you so much." I whispered, praying that he heard. I opened my eyes, taking one last glance at the lost boys, debating with myself whether or not I wanted to jump down that hole or just fight the two boys. My mind was made up when I saw both of them pull daggers out of the sheathes on their belts. I turned back towards the hole and braced myself, taking in a deep breath. At the last minute, I slid to the floor, sliding straight down into the hole, plunging into darkness.

**Oh, what'd you guys think? ;D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Thanks again for all of the love you guys have shown this story! It means SO much to me. :3**

**I'll also probably be uploading a chapter tomorrow so I hope you guys enjoy! :P**

THIRD PERSON P.O.V.

Devin and Ryker halted when they reached the dark hole that the red headed girl had willingly jumped into. She had either been desperate or just plain crazy. Devin knew that he would have sooner tried to take on two boys with daggers than go down there, not that he'd be able to fit into the hole anyway.

"So why did Pan want us to lead her here anyways?" Ryker asked, crouching down to get a better look at the cave entrance that almost immediately sloped downward; to where exactly it dropped down to though, he didn't know. Devin shrugged.

"I don't know. He's practically sent her to her own death though; it'd take a miracle to get out of there.." Devin trailed off. Ryker raised an eyebrow, almost performing a perfect immitation of Peter.

"Where does it go to?" He asked, curiosity working its way through his body, almost making him want to find out for himself. The only thing holding him back was the slightly disturbed expression Devin wore when he had asked his question. Devin tucked his dagger into his sheath, not answering Ryker's question right away. Everyone who had been here for a while knew what lied down at the bottom of the hole, but just because they were technically out of it's reach didn't make it any less threatening. Ryker followed suit, placing his dagger back into his sheath at his side as well. He waited, staring at Devin.

"So?"

"So, what?"

"What's at the bottom of the hole?" Ryker repeated his question. Devin sighed.

"Something dangerous, let's leave it at that." Devin said, his tone indicating finality, effectively ending the conversation with Ryker, despite how much the latter wanted to continue it. He had only recently been recruited into the lost boys, but he already felt at home here in Neverland, so if he wasn't supposed to ask more questions about what lie at the bottom of the pit, he wouldn't.

The two boys began their slow walk back in the direction of the abandoned camp site, intending on finding that boar that had barely escaped them. Their mission from Pan had been simple, Devin was supposed to teach Ryker how to hunt, but if along the way they saw Aaralyn, they were to chase her to the entrance of The Forgotten Paths. Almost as if fate had had a hand in the way things played out, the girl HAD been on their way while they were out hunting. Devin grinned when he thought about how happy Pan would be to hear that they had succeeded.

When the two boys arrived at the campsite, they sat down on the logs, catching their breath from the long run they had just performed in order to fulfill the orders given to them.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Ryker asked. Devin was about to answer when a voice from above cut off his words before they could even leave his mouth.

"Excellent work boys." Their leader's voice rang out. Peter flew down and stood on the ground atop the dead leaves, hoisting one of his legs up and on a log by him so that one foot was on the ground and the other was on the piece of wood. Devin's and Ryker's heads both snapped to where Peter was standing. Ryker's eyes began to glow with admiration for the green eyed man before them. Devin just rolled his eyes, having already gone through his admiration for Peter phase. Their leader was a powerful person, true, but Devin honestly couldn't understand how he had ever looked up to Peter; he was just another boy, like them. Pan smirked at Ryker's expression before leaning both of his arms on his elevated leg.

"Truly, I'm surprised at how well that went for you." Peter continued. Devin shook his head.

"That's because you underestimate everyone but yourself, boss." Devin said, only half joking. Peter's smirk turned into a straight expression when he considered Devin's words.

"That's because I can't trust anyone else but myself, Devin." Peter said, no hints of humor in his face. Ryker nodded at Pan, completely understanding how it felt to only being able to rely on yourself.

"Why did we send her down there anyway? Is she a threat?" Devin asked, stretching his arms above his head, completely at ease. He truly didn't like the girl at all, but she must be pretty important if Peter wanted her sent down to The Forgotten Paths. Pan stared behind the other two boys in the direction of the hole that Aaralyn had gone down, almost as if trying to scrutinize her from his position.

"That boys, has yet to be seen." Pan mumbled. There was something about Aaralyn that seemed...off. Pan knew that there was more to her than the eye could see, but he wasn't sure what that thing was. Ryker laughed.

"Well if down that hole is as bad as you and Devin make it seem, then she won't exactly be a threat for much longer." He said. Peter masked his thoughtful expression with one of light humor, turning towards the new recruit.

"Right you are Ryker. Now, hurry up and catch the others some dinner; we're all starving and tonight we're holding Henry's welcoming party." Pan smirked and turned to leave, but before he could go more than two steps, Devin spoke up.

"What happens if she DOES find her way out of there?" He asked. Pan stopped completely, mulling over Devin's words. Not even three seconds later, he broke out into a grin.

"Don't get too optimistic, Devin. There's only way out of there, and you know it; the chances of her finding the only escape route is slim. However, if she does manage to get out of there, then you can be sure that I'll be having a friendly chat with her." He said. Devin grinned along with Pan, realizing the truth in his words and reveling in the comforting news that Aaralyn would have to talk with Pan if she escaped.

"What's so dangerous about The Forgotten Paths?" Ryker asked, bringing Devin out of his cheerful mood. Peter looked at Ryker, an eyebrow raised.

"Why do you want to know? Would you like to join Aaralyn down the hole?" Peter asked, his mood turning snappish. Ryker's eyes darted around him in fear, completely avoiding Pan's glare.

"No. I was just curious..." Ryker mumbled, keeping his gaze on the floor before him. Pan scoffed.

"Curiosity has gotten far too many people killed on this island, Ryker. Best to remember that." He said, turning away from Devin and Ryker. Without another word, he flew away, leaving the two boys to get back to their mission of catching dinner. Devin pulled his hood over his head, sending Ryker a glare.

"Nice going."

"It was just a question!" Ryker defended. Devin rolled his eyes.

"You could've kept your mouth shut until Pan was gone." Devin hissed at him.

"Would you have answered my question if I had waited for Pan to leave?" Ryker asked, doubt lacing his voice. Devin looked down at the ground, silently giving his answer. Ryker would learn what lied waiting at the bottom of the hole soon enough; all of the lost boys did at one time or another. None of them had ever actually gone through The Forgotten Paths, but when Pan told you the story of what the hole hid, it wiped away every single one of your desires to see for yourself.

"So...have you ever been down there?" Ryker asked. Devin coughed and pulled his hood up tighter.

"I haven't personally, no. Pan has though. In fact, sometimes he still goes down there."

"I thought you said it was dangerous down there, or at least that there was SOMETHING dangerous down there. If that's true, then why would Pan keep visiting it?"

"You ask a lot of questions. Unfortunately for you, I don't feel the need to answer a single one of them." Devin smirked when Ryker playfully smacked his arm.

"Is everyone around here always so mysterious?" Ryker laughed, only half kidding. They began walking away from the camp, both searching through the bushes for any sign of life.

"Afraid so. I'd get used to it if I were you." Devin said, rubbing his hand through his hair underneath his hood. Ryker scoffed.

"Apparently I'll have no choice to but to get used to it." He smiled and then stopped, pointing to Devin's left. Devin looked and saw the boar from earlier. He slapped Ryker's middle playfully.

"About time you do something useful." He said, smiling. The two creeped up to the animal and finally caught their dinner.

Peter sighed, gently landing on the ground of the camp after leaving Devin and the newbie. A weary expression took over his face when he saw Henry sitting on the same log as he had been before. Was he ever going to loosen up and live a little?

"Henry!" Pan called. The dark haired boy looked up from his sitting position.

"Yeah?" He asked, nervously. He was about this close from trying to run away from Pan. Henry knew that it would be impossible to try and hide from Peter on his own island, but anything had to be better than just sitting here waiting. It seemed like forever since Aaralyn had left, and there was still no sign of her or his family. Needless to say, Henry was losing hope. Peter snickered at Henry's tone but didn't comment on it.

"Come on." Peter gestured for Henry to follow him, his voice suggesting that he didn't really have any other choice but to obey. Slowly, all of the lost boys grouped together in a half circle, all waiting for Henry to come stand in front of them. Peter nodded at one of the lost boys. Immediately, that lost boy grabbed his own crossbow from it's spot on the ground and retrieved one of the arrows, bringing them both over to Pan along with a small bottle. Peter took the arrow and opened the bottle, handing it back to the boy after it had been opened.

"What's that?" Henry asked, finally making his way over to the other boys. Pan dipped the arrow into the bottle and swirled it around.

"Dreamshade; it's a nasty poison." Peter answered, taking the arrow out of the bottle. He blew on the tip of the arrow, trying to remove any excess drops of poison. Pan looked at the arrowhead, seemingly satisfied with the thin layer of purple liquid coating it. He reached over to the lost boy and took the crossbow from his grasp.

"We've heard a story here about a man who once shot an apple off his son's head with an arrow," Peter said, all the while pulling the string back on the crossbow, preparing it to fire. He met Henry's eyes, "Let's find out if it's possible." He loaded the arrow into the crossbow. Henry fidgeted with his hands at his sides

"If you're shooting at the apple, then what's the poison for?" He asked. Henry didn't want to get hit with an arrow, period. The fact that the arrow was poisoned didn't really do anything to ease his nerves. Pan positioned the crossbow in front of him, seemingly practicing his aim.

"Motivation not to miss." Pan answered simply, lowering the crossbow. Henry gaped at him, unsure if Pan was really serious. Wasn't he needed?- or had Pan just taken him for sport? Henry swallowed, trying his hardest to keep his heartbeat under control.

"Felix? Get over here." Pan called out, checking the alignment of the arrow again. Henry watched as the only lost boy that had been sitting down by the fire stood and walked over to them, his blond hair messed up. Felix just smirked when he reached Pan's side.

"Is- is Felix good? Is his aim good?" Henry said, stumbling over his own words. He didn't even care if his nerves WERE showing now, he just didn't want to die. Pan looked at Henry, showing with his facial expression that Henry hadn't fully understood.

"Doesn't matter," Pan said, glancing over at the now grinning Felix, "you're the one doing the shooting." Peter flipped the crossbow, offering the handle of it in Henry's direction. Henry's eyes widened, his heartbeat racing faster than it had before. He accepted the crossbow from Pan, but only because he had acted on the instinct to grab something held in his direction.

"But I don't- I don't want to shoot." Henry said, slightly less worried that his life wasn't on the line, but still afraid that he might miss. He didn't want to cause someone's life to come to a close all because he didn't know how to shoot a crossbow before. Peter ignored him and tossed an apple up at Felix. The blond lost boy caught the fruit and backed up, his club hung over his shoulder. All of the other boys began to chant.

"Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!" Henry slowly found himself listening to the words of the boys around him, hesitantly turning the crossbow in the direction of Felix.

"You won't hit him." Pan assured. Felix slowly placed the apple atop his head, keeping eye contact with Henry, silently daring Henry to let the arrow loose. The boys continued their chanting.

"Trust yourself, go on, it's exhilarating!" Pan said to Henry. Felix finally got the apple to stay on his head. He joined the chanting around him, followed by Peter. After a few more times of saying the word 'shoot', Peter held out his hand, signalling them all to stop. Everyone waited, watching the younger boy hold the crossbow, the arrow aimed at the apple. Henry had an inner battle with himself in that moment. Should he let the arrow go, taking the risk of missing?- Or could he shoot at a much easier target? Felix smirked, looking completely at ease. Henry took in a deep breath and shot the arrow.

Felix ducked his head to the side, narrowly missing the arrow that had been aimed at the apple but had instead soared towards his head. The arrow penetrated the tree standing behind the lost boy, leaving everyone to stand in an awkward cloud of silence. No one made a sound, all of their faces showing an expression of surprise. Even Pan stood there, shocked. It was supposed to have worked! How could have Henry missed? Pan was the first to recover from the consuming silence.

"Well, that was disappointing." He spoke aloud. He grabbed the crossbow from a stunned Henry. Henry shook his head and turned to Peter.

"I thought you said that I wouldn't hit him!" Henry yelled, staring at the arrow that had lodged itself into the trunk of a large tree. Felix clutched the apple that had been on his head, all signs of a cocky attitude gone.

"Yeah, Peter." Felix stated, looking at his leader with a questioning expression plastered onto his face. Peter shoved the crossbow back into the arms of it's owner, motioning with his eyes for the lost boy to leave. After all of the other lost boys had cleared out of the area, Pan turned to face Henry and Felix, his face becoming the epitome of anger.

"It was supposed to work!" Peter yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Henry, "You. You were supposed to hit the apple." His voice was cold and stiff, no longer showing any signs of the playful boy that had been on display before Henry had missed. Henry cowered back.

"I- I didn't mean to miss! I've never shot one of those before!" Henry explained. Peter seemed to think Henry's words over, his face now completely emotionless. His eyes never left Henry's, almost as if trying to figure out what had gone wrong. He suddenly nodded in Henry's direction.

"Go join the other boys Henry." He instructed. Grateful for an excuse to leave Peter's scrutinizing gaze, Henry hurried off to catch up with the others. Felix turned to Peter when Henry was far out of earshot.

"What do you think went wrong?" Felix asked, genuinely confused. Peter had never been wrong before then. Pan ran a hand through his hair, messing it up.

"He didn't believe that he wouldn't miss, or at least I think that's what happened." Pan explained. He had no problem admitting the truth to his friend; Felix was his most trusted, and most loyal, lost boy. Felix bit into the apple that had been on his head moments ago.

"Maybe he was just scared; you out of all people understand the effect that fear has on people. It messes up their thinking." Felix suggested, taking another bite. Peter sighed.

"We better hope it was just fear; we don't really have a lot of time left." Peter said.

"We've plenty of time, and you also have other things to worry about." Felix pointed out. Peter scoffed.

"Like what?"

"Well, the redhead for starters. Not to mention the fact that Henry's family is here too." Felix spoke in hushed tones. Pan rolled his eyes while crossing his arms.

"You think I should be worried about Aaralyn? That's hardly necessary since she's stuck in The Forgotten Paths." Peter said. Felix spit out some of his apple, his eyes widening.

"How'd she get there?"

"I had Devin and Ryker chase her to the entrance; she saw it as her only way of escape. It was far easier than I thought it would be." Pan smirked, remembering his small victory of the day. No one really deserved to be sent down to the Paths, but she would only prove a bigger nuisance if she was let out of there. Maybe one day Peter would retrieve her from the hellish place, but he wanted to test her limits. It had been so long since he'd had a real challenge, and if Aaralyn could provide a challenge, then he was ready to welcome it with open arms. Keeping Henry away from his family was child's play, really, but with Aaralyn, he really didn't know how to get around her. She just kept showing up. Peter smirked when he thought of Aaralyn calling out for help within the confines of the Paths. Heaven knows that she'd need it if she wanted to get out of there on her own, something Pan doubted that she could do without anything short of a miracle. Felix shook his head.

"I would've rather taken my chances with Devin and newbie." Felix stated. Peter scoffed.

"Well, as you said earlier, fear messes up people's ability to think. It's funny, really, how it gets to them." Pan smiled. Felix returned the expression, but his smile was quickly replaced with a look of seriousness again.

"I know that face." Pan groaned, running a hand down his face in exasperation. Felix ignored his friend and looked over at the group of other lost boys, making sure that none of them were trying to listen in.

"So now what are we going to do with Henry?" Felix asked, shuddering slightly when he thought of how the arrow had whizzed past the spot where his head had previously been. He had never been more grateful for his fast reflexes than in that moment. Peter looked away from his friend, seriously considering what the answer to Felix's question would be. What SHOULD they do with Henry? Peter sighed once again.

"We give him a few more chances. I've no doubt in my mind that Henry is the one I'm looking for. He has to have the heart of the truest believer; there's no way that he couldn't." Peter answered, his voice sounding far more confident than he felt. His mind flashed back to Henry's shooting failure. It had to have been a mistake. Felix nodded, once again biting his apple.

"Now what about Henry's family?"

"They'll be easy enough to distract. We just have to turn then against one another, and everything else will take care of itself. I think our biggest problem with their group is Emma. A childless mother can be a dangerous thing." Pan said. Felix laughed.

"So how should we handle her? We could always end this the easy way." Felix suggested, swinging his club off of his shoulders and leaning on it, the top of it against the ground and the end of it in his hand. Pan shook his head.

"No, it's far more fun to make them go into war with each other." He smirked. Everything would fall into place soon enough. Turning Henry's family and the pirate against one another wouldn't be hard; they would most likely all separate from each other by the time that Peter was done with them. As for Aaralyn, Peter didn't really know how to approach that issue other than interfering with anything she does if it interrupts his work and if she passes the test or gets far enough through the Paths, then he would bring her back up to camp. Anyone that was strong enough to survive The Forgotten Paths deserved to live. Peter knew that there was something different about the ginger girl, but he wasn't exactly sure what was different about her. He had to admit that she was impressive in her own way. She had jumped after Henry and had been the only person younger than himself to have stood up to him. Then again, plenty of people seemed to think that they were capable of that. Unfortunately for them, their experience on the island never ended well.

"If you're sure." Felix said, unaware of Pan's rushing thoughts that had happened between a mere pause in their conversation. Peter snapped out of his daze and focused back on the blond before him. He slapped his friend's shoulder before grinning.

"Of course I am." He walked straight past Felix and went over to the other lost boys. All of them were in a circle, watching as two boys in the middle of the human cage were fighting with swords. Laughter was filling the air as the two boys dodged each other's blows, the clashing of metal ringing out. Peter smiled as he noticed the amused expression on Henry's face. He'd be a full member of the lost boys soon enough.

When the boys saw Peter coming, they all stopped and turned towards their leader. Pan waved their stares off dismissively.

"Don't stop on my account, boys!" Peter yelled out with a cheerful voice, immediately wiping away any confusion any of the boys possessed. If their leader wasn't worried, then they shouldn't be either. Everyone but Henry cried out, a lighter mood taking over the camp of boys. The boys continued sparring, making Pan grin. It was amazing how all of them really looked to him as a leading figure. Peter's grin faded when Henry dejectedly sat back on his signature log. Peter scoffed and walked over to him, sitting next to him again. Henry looked over at him, a troubled look crossing his features when he saw the dirty blond sitting beside him. He glanced down at the ground, shuffling his feet.

"I messed up, didn't I?" He asked, worry lacing his voice. Peter just smiled.

"No, you did fine, great even. It was my fault. I shouldn't have expected you not to be nervous." Peter lied. Best to keep the boy at ease if he was to agree with anything Pan said or ordered. Henry's facial expression visibly relaxed.

"Oh good." Henry said. After that, he turned away, obviously deciding that the older boy wasn't worth his time. Although Henry faked a mask of indifference, he was really scared of Peter. Not really bothered by Henry's obviously fake act, Peter stood and went over to watch the intense fight develop into swords AND fists. Henry would come around; they always did.

Henry watched as Pan left his company to go join the other lost boys. He kicked at the ground, gently disturbing the dirt beneath his sneakers. Where was his family? He would at least have expected to hear from them by now; to see Pan get worried when he heard that his family HAD come. Sadly though, no news had come, and that fact was bringing Henry down more than anything else. The only person he really had absolute faith in right now was Aaralyn. She was the only other person that he knew of on the island that was really on his side. She would be coming for him any moment now; she was probably just busy finding his family. Henry looked back over at the other group of boys. Had all of them eventually lost hope? How had they all adjusted to this kind of life? Right now, you'd never be able to tell that they weren't all family in the first place, the way they were laughing and messing around...it was almost contagious...

Henry shook his head furiously. He HAD a family. His thoughts drifted to both of his moms and the warm embraces he would get when they were all reunited. His grandparents would undoubtedly be there too, waiting for their grandson. Henry smiled to himself, feeling the strongest urge to run out there and find his family on his own. He'd give anything to be back with them. The only problem is that he couldn't leave; Pan would find him faster than he could hide. Once again, Henry's hopes relied on Aaralyn. If she could find his family, she could tell them where he is, and then they'd ALL come and rescue her. Henry couldn't help but grin when he thought of his whole family swooping in to save the day. Pan had a lot to worry about, whether or not he let it show. Henry lied down on the log, looking up at the stars while trying his hardest to ignore the loud commotion coming from only a few yards away. He closed his eyes, letting the slight cool breeze stroke his face. He replayed scenarios in his head, all of them ending in Peter's failure and Emma running towards him, arms open. Those images gave Henry a new burst of hope. He looked towards Pan before closing his eyes again, relaxing.

"You want to play Peter Pan? Well, my family's ready and so am I. Get ready." Henry said. Slowly, the young boy drifted off to sleep. Little did Henry know, the leader had heard his words. Peter smirked.

"Oh don't worry, I will." He whispered before turning his attention back to his other boys. All of their jesting was interrupted when Devin and Ryker came crashing through the bushes. Henry stayed asleep, but the other boys almost immediately faced the two new arrivals. Devin and Ryker dragged a large animal behind them. All of the boys began to cheer and ran towards the dead animal, all of them willing to help carry the thing.

Peter smirked and walked back over to Felix. His friend smirked along with him as they looked at all of their 'brothers'. Peter's gaze inevitably went to Henry and instead of feeling any anger towards the boy, he simply turned away. Henry would come to his senses soon enough.


	5. Chapter 5

**AAAAAGGGHHH ALL OF YOUR REVIEWS MAKE ME THE HAPPIEST PERSON EVER! :3 I love you all, for real. :P**

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**Have A Merry Christmas! 3**

AARALYN'S P.O.V.

I let out a long scream as I slid down the long tunnel, surrounded by darkness. There was nothing to grab onto, so I was basically praying that the drop out of this tunnel wouldn't kill me. My cry was abruptly cut off as I finally slid out of the confines of the darkness and straight into a body of water.

I immediately emerged, my new fear of water encouraging me to swim to any piece of land. My breaths came out as gasps as I hurriedly looked around, desperate to get out of the cold liquid. As soon as I saw the comforting sight of a shore to my left, I swam to it quickly, not wanting to wait and see if the same trick Pan pulled at the ocean would work here.

I resisted the urge to kiss the rough, coarse sand once I reached the shore, using my hands to raise me back up to my feet. Once I was completely out of the water, a cold chill raked over me. Unfortunately, my wet clothes did nothing to help block out the freezing air. I tucked my hands into my dripping long sleeved shirt, clutching the fabric in between my fingers while simultaneously rubbing my arms with my now covered hands. I clenched my teeth together, trying my hardest to keep them from chattering. How could it suddenly be so cold here? I let out a breath, watching in fascination as a white cloud came out of my mouth, testifying just how cold it was. It hadn't nearly been this cold up the tunnel...so where was I?

Curiously, my eyes darted around, taking in every detail of my surroundings that they could. There were dark green trees that were much thicker, and darker, than the ones up by the entrance to the tunnel. The sand here wasn't a beige color like the sand by the Neverland ocean, but instead was a dark brown, matching the shade of the surrounding tree trunks. I turned around and gulped as I saw where exactly I had fallen. The most surprising thing about this place was that it didn't own a sky. In place of where the sky should be, there was a large stone ceiling with matching walls that met at the far corner of the pool, successfully creating an inescapable barrier. A dark hole in the top of the ceiling was hanging above the small pool that I had fallen in, proving itself to have been my means of entrance, and from the looks of it, it seemed to be the only way in or out. I let loose a disbelieving laugh, fiercely hoping that I wasn't going insane. Had I fallen INTO the island?

"No way." I whispered, staring at the unreal imagery. I faced the trees again, noticing that there were no more walls except for the ones behind me and the pool. However, the stone walls did spread out, verifying that this whole place really was beneath the island. The only question was: what was this place? I continually rubbed my arms, endeavoring to keep in at least enough body heat to stay alive.

Momentarily pushing the fact that this place was most likely some sort of tunnel beneath the island, I began to walk, trudging through the heavy sand that was weighing my feet down along with the water that was sloshing around in my converse. One thing that was absolutely clear to me was that I'd have to find shelter, and soon. If I couldn't do that, then I'd at least have to find a place to start a fire, because something told me that I wouldn't be receiving any help down here.

Taking in what should've been a calming breath, I hesitantly began the hike into the unfamiliar forest. I was immediately unsettled when I noticed that along with it being deathly cold, there wasn't a single sound in the forest besides the gentle crunching of my footsteps and the dripping of water that kept sliding off of my clothes. I closed my eyes and continued on while the cold air seemed to work its way all the way down to my bones. Another rush of air came towards me, almost making me stop and curl into a ball on the floor, but I knew that if I did, then I wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon. I turned my head to the side, using my wet hair to shield my face as best as I could.

The trek through the forest almost became tedious after a while, the wind never relented and the line of trees never opened up into a clearing. After I had had enough of walking through the forest, I reluctantly stopped, afraid that if I stayed still for too long then I would freeze. I crossed and then uncrossed my arms, making sure that the blood was still flowing through my veins. Looking around, I gathered as many sticks and dead grass as I could along with a few stones. I most likely wouldn't be finding shelter tonight, so I'd have to settle on a fire. I arranged the stones in a circle on the ground and then placed the sticks and dead grass in the center of the circle. I picked up two other stones and struck them together as hard as I could, ignoring the pain that shot up from my frozen fingers. I sat on the floor before the crafted fire pit and continued trying to light up the dried up sticks.

Occasionally, the rocks would give off a slight spark, but it was never enough to light the firewood. I felt panic build up in my stomach at the thought of dying here, lost and alone. I used that panic to my advantage and kept trying at the seemingly impossible task, refusing to let any other thoughts of discouragement enter my mind; not that anything was worse than dying alone. As hard as I tried, the sparks just didn't latch onto the twigs. The cold rushed over me again, threatening frostbite. I let out the beginning of a sob, but I still wasn't willing to give up. My cold clothes were beginning to be unbearable; they only invited the cold in. I needed to dry off. This fire would light. It had to. IT WOULD.

I yelped and fell backwards as a burst of flames shot up in an explosion of light, effectively lighting up my small pile of sticks and dead grass. As quickly as it had begun, it ended, leaving me with a small flame that was just big enough to warm up my frozen skin. I gaped at the now lit fire from my spot on the ground, leaning on my elbows so that my back didn't touch the floor. I sat up, moving back to my original position of sitting in front of the fire. I was speechless. How had the fire just...lit? Another wave of cold air ran past me, but I found that it didn't bug me nearly as much. I looked down at myself in surprise, finally noticing that all of my clothes, and even my hair, were completely dry. Not that I was complaining, but I saw no way that my clothes could've just dried that quickly. How was it possible?

I blew a piece of my now dry hair out of my eyes, welcoming it's soft feel on my cheek compared to how frozen and stiff it had felt before. I shoved my hands in front of the blazing fire, half tempted to just ram my hands into the flames, ready to get rid of the numb feeling that had taken over my fingers. I decided to forget the weird phenomenon that I had just witnessed, wanting to just enjoy the heat emanating from the fire for now. I'd most likely have time to question what had just happened later on.

After my body was warmed up by the fire, the cool air did next to nothing to decrease my comfort. I had no doubt, however, that if the fire were to go out, I'd be back where I started, minus the wet clothing and hair. I stared into the fire, watching the edges of it fly around, trying it's hardest to reach for the sky, or in this case, the stone ceiling. I rested my head in one of my hands, keeping my gaze on the flames.

I made no noise as I sat there, content with listening to the crackling sound of the fire. It wouldn't be long before I'd have to move on; I had to find some way out of this underground place. It was either that or go searching for more firewood, but I was afraid that if I did, then I would never want to leave. I warily stood up, not looking forward to putting the fire out, but not really wanting to rest any longer.

Letting out a sigh, I stomped out the fire, ready to trek on. When the fire was out, I observed with a puzzled expression that it wasn't pitch dark, which didn't make sense because there was no moon or Sun to shine down on the forest. The ceiling ensured that. I stumbled forward, persevering on through the forest. I'd have to come along a clearing or an exit to this place soon enough.

Eventually, I made it to a part of the forest where all of the trees were entirely bare. There was a slight fog covering the ground, showing the separation of where the green forest began and where the ominous one began. I gulped, unsure if I wanted to take that step over the invisible boundary. It was more than a little disconcerting to see what was a lush, healthy forest morph into a dead, eerie one. Knowing that I really had no choice, I braced myself.

"Come on, it's just a forest." I mumbled to myself, breaking the silence that I had constructed all through this short journey. I clenched my fists, comforted by the feel of my fingernails digging into my palms. Before I could dwell on it any longer, I quickly stepped into the creepy forest, walking forward without looking back. There wasn't really any time to just sit there like some sort of vacant shell; I had to find Emma and them. Then, we could all save Henry and take down Pan.

I had no clue which was creepier: the soundless, healthy forest, or the quiet rasping of the wind through this forest. It almost made them seem like they were breathing. I crossed my arms, pushing any trace of fear down in the back of my head. I couldn't let a fear of the bloody wind get in my way. Every single one of the trees all had white bark, almost giving off an unearthly glow as I passed by them. The forest floor was covered in dark black leaves that hadn't been, and most likely would never be, decomposed, adding onto the spooky appearance that the forest was creating. It was only a forest though, so I kept pushing on, brushing off any pessimistic thoughts.

I froze when I heard a large snapping sound coming from behind me. Bit by bit, I turned my head around, expecting to see something out of the ordinary standing right behind me, but instead coming up with empty air. There was nothing around me except for the fog and the trees.

"Hello?" I called. I had never wished for anything harder than I had in that moment. I wished that no one would answer.

In response, I heard another cracking noise, only this time it had come from the direction that I had been headed before I heard the first sound. I flipped around again, confusion becoming the most overwhelming emotion that I felt. Not wanting to stick around to find out what had made the sound, I ran further into the forest, never looking behind me when more cracks sounded out. My hair whipped behind me and the cold bit at my cheeks, but I knew that I couldn't stop. There was a feeling inside of me that told me that if I did stop...then I wouldn't make it out alive, and frankly, at this point, that was just an unacceptable option that didn't even deserve to be considered. It seemed to be like a never ending death trap on this whole island.

The cracking noise intensified into an ear-splitting crunching. Taking the risk, I peeked over my shoulder, anxious to find out just what I was running from. I let out a breath of surprise when I didn't see a thing. How could there not be anything chasing me? -the sounds that had been following me had been far too loud to be my imagination.

"Who's there?!" I yelled, slowing my pace down to a steady jog. When no answer came, I fought against all of my instincts and came to a stop, straining my ears to try and pick up any possible sound that they could. Nothing. The only noise I could hear was the sound of my heart hammering against my ribs hard enough to bruise them.

The wind rustled through the trees, an incredible contrast to the sounds that had been echoing around this tunnel only moments before. My stomach lurched when a miniscule cracking sound rang out, effectively breaking the silence. The moment I had beard the cracking sound though, I broke out in a run, praying that this forest would end just like the previous one had. My feet smacked the dead leaves, the pounding sound far too loud for my liking. I wasn't going insane; there really was something here with me, I knew there was, and even if there wasn't, there was no other person with me to confirm my assumptions. Wait...another person.

I stopped dead in my tracks, immediately turning around, once again welcome by the sight of trees and fog.

"Peter? Is that you?" I yelled out into the darkness, cupping my hands around my mouth so that my shouts would make it further out into the forest. Of course, no answer came back to me. I scoffed. If this was all Peter's doing then he'd soon be missing a few of his ligaments. I was afraid, alone and lost. I think that justifies harming the person responsible for all of this.

I took a step back into the direction of the forest that I had been running away from, not exactly feeling courageous so much as angry. I had never signed up to be a human experiment for his entertainment.

"Peter!" I tried again. Instead of being met with an 18 year old boy, I was greeted with more crunching noises. Shocked, I jumped back a few steps, unsure of where the sound had come from. A small rustling echoed out against the silent expanse of forest. I looked down to my right and froze when I saw something crawling across the ground towards my feet. It took me a moment to identify it, but when I did, I looked around horror. I suddenly knew what had been making those sounds.

My body reacted faster than my mind could, and soon enough, I found myself running away. Unable to resist the urge, I glanced behind me again. The formerly still trees rumbled, their roots ripping themselves out of the ground, upsetting the soil all around them. When their roots were free, they waved them like snakes, their jerking movements making my eyes widen.

I abruptly fell to the ground, having tripped over something. I flipped around, noticing with fear in my eyes that the thing that had tripped me had been one of the roots that belonged to a large white tree that wasn't even ten feet away from me. My heart leaped up into my throat, effectively blocking any hopes I had of screaming out for help. It wasn't until after that thought crossed my mind that I realized that there wasn't anyone to call out for help to. At least on the beach up on the actual island of Neverland, there was a slight chance that someone could hear me...but here...it was impossible for anyone to rescue me. I had to be my own hero, I suppose, but at the moment, that was the furthest thing from my mind.

I barely scooched away from the roots, stumbling to my feet before the roots could grab a hold of my ankles. I slipped a couple times in my attempt to escape, but quickly picked myself up, my hands and wrists getting more than a few scrapes. I never looked behind me once I started running. I didn't have to. The trees in front of me were doing the exact same thing as the ones behind me. The branches of the trees joined the roots and began waving around frantically, dead set on getting in my way. I jumped over a root that was barely rising beneath me, using the momentum that I had gained to slide beneath a branch that had swung at my head. I didn't let the revelation that I could've lost my head had that branch hit it's target linger in my head too long.

I watched in utter amazement as the trees pulled their whole bodies out of the ground, using their roots as legs to move. They began to all crawl towards me, their limbs swinging viciously around their trunks. I did my best to dodge each and every one of their advances on me, but occasionally managed to get a few cuts from the whipping branches. I lifted up and arm to shield my face from any more injuries, already having attained a cut above my left eye, just next to my eyebrow. The blood trickled down the side of my face, narrowly missing my eye. I found that it was much harder to see while covering my face, but I managed to avoid the majority of the trees' attacks.

The trees were relentless; they continued coming after me even after I had passed them. I was too afraid to look behind me, but I knew that if I did, I would most likely see the entire forest chasing me.

I panted, my legs screaming at me to just stop, to take a break. I had managed to outrun a few trees, but there were plenty more to replace the ones that fell behind. It was almost never-ending. I let out a small moan, unsure of how much longer I could keep running. This forest had better end soon, and fast. My limbs begged me to give up; they were practically shouting in my ear that I should just let the trees take me. I took the risk of looking behind me yet again and was met with the sight that I had expected to see. Every single tree that I had already passed were seemingly racing one another to see who could get to me first.

I directed my focus back onto the scenery before me and felt a rush of strained relief flow over me. Barely in view beyond the fog, there was a large mountain before me that I'd have to hike up of I wanted to escape. It was the only way. The only problem was that climbing the cliff would take a fair amount of muscle strength, something, I felt, I was running dangerously low on. I had to do it though.

I cried out in pain as I pushed myself to a full on sprint, racing towards the bottom of the cliff. Not even bothering to look behind me when I reached my destination, I shakily placed one of my hands on the rock wall before me. I clasped onto a few rocks, putting my weight on them to see if the rocks I had grabbed onto would be able to support my weight. Once I was certain that I wouldn't fall to my death if I began the ascent to the top of the cliff, I immediately began to climb, slowly but surely making my way to the top. My arms and legs ached, all of them desperate for a rest, but instead of complying with their wishes, I ignored the pain searing through my muscles and grunted as I continued climbing. When I heard a large boom, I looked below me and saw a couple trees at the bottom of the cliff, all of them smacking the base of the rock wall with their branches and roots. I continued to climb despite the fact that I had seen the rocks below me start to crack from the force of the trees' blows.

I almost let some tears drip down my cheeks as I reached the top of the cliff, my fears of falling pushed aside, instead being replaced with elation. I rolled over the top of the cliff, lying down on my back for a second, giving my muscles their well earned break. I closed my eyes and let out a hysterical burst of laughter, forgetting about the booming sound coming from the bottom of the cliff. I had just been chased by trees. It seemed as though all of the elements were against me today. I looked over the edge of the cliff and watched as all of the trees began retreating back to their fog covered forest. I laughed again.

"Exhilarating, isn't it?-the thrill of escape." A voice said. I whipped my head around, glaring at the owner of that voice. Seeing as I was too tired to move though, I stayed on my spot on the floor, barely managing to sit up.

"How did you get here?" I asked. Peter raised an eyebrow, forming a perfect arch.

"I OWN this island Aaralyn. I come and go anywhere I please." He informed me. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to my aching leg muscles, rubbing them so that they wouldn't be too sore.

"Well, where exactly is 'here'?" I said, not raising my eyes to his level. This didn't seem to discourage him. Peter crouched down next to my spot on the ground, staring straight at me, his attention focused.

"The Forgotten Paths." He said. I met his olive green eyes again.

"What are those?"

"It's not a 'what', it's a 'where'. The Forgotten Paths are the tunnels that run under Neverland, forgotten by everyone, hence the name. In more ways than one, this place is far more dangerous than the above ground Neverland." Pan said. I scoffed and switched to my other leg.

"So I've noticed."

"Honestly, I'm surprised that you've made it this far."

"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence. It means a lot, really." I bit out, wincing when I got to a part of my leg that had earned a bruise from one of the trees.

"Hmm, you should probably be more careful down here, Aaralyn." He said. I glared at him.

"I'll remember that the next time I'm running for my life. Safety first." I responded. Peter laughed at my words, reaching out and wiping away the blood above my eye. I froze when his finger came into contact with my skin, unsure of how to react. Honestly, it felt nice finally being able to interact with another person, but I didn't know what to make of this. Pan smirked at my confused expression and wiped the blood he had swept off of my face on the grass beneath us.

"You might live longer if you do." He said, continuing on with our conversation. I snapped out of my daze and stretched my arms above my head, trying to regain the feeling in all of my muscles. When I felt that my legs were ready, I hesitantly stood up, throwing myself an inner party when I stood up without stumbling.

"You know what would also help me live longer?-if you took me out of here with you." I said. Pan laughed, his eyes closed. It wasn't really that funny. In fact, it wasn't funny at all. He stopped laughing when he saw my disbelieving expression.

"Oh, were you serious?" He asked playfully, now standing at his full height. I threw my hands up in the air.

"Of course I'm being serious! I fell down here running from YOUR men so I think that you should take me out of here. I've had enough fighting for my life today." I said, crossing my arms. Pan let out a puff of air.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I can't take you out of here."

"Can't? Or won't?"

"Won't." He answered simply, keeping his voice level, currently not letting any emotion play over his face except for amusement. I gaped at him.

"Why not?" He stepped closer to me, invading my personal space. I didn't back down this time though, so when our faces were less than a foot away, I held my ground, staring at him with the same intensity that he was directing at me.

"Because if you ever want to leave The Forgotten Paths, then you have to locate the only exit; you have to find your own way to the escape route. Those are the rules, and trust me when I say that it's not easy to find the exit." He smirked, his face inching even closer to mine. When his face was mere inches apart, I scoffed.

"Did you have to do it that way? Or do the rules only apply to every single stranger that accidentally finds their way down here?"

"Believe it or not Aaralyn, but most people don't jump down the dark tube that leads you to the start of the Paths in place of fighting two young boys." I rolled my eyes and pushed Pan away from me, reigning in my smug look as he stumbled backwards a little.

"Fine then. I'll still find my way out of here, with or without your help." I said, stubbornly. He sent me a glare before taking another step backwards.

"We'll see. If you do, I'll definitely be surprised." Frankly, so would I if everything else down here was like those trees.

"I'll bet you will be." I said, keeping eye contact with him. He suddenly stepped right up to me, our bodies a breath away. I felt a weird sensation run through me at our close proximity.

"Try not to make too big of a mess when you die. I'd hate to have to come down here and clean up."

"I doubt you'd even be bothered enough to come down here again if I died." I said. Pan smirked.

"Let's just hope you have better luck than the few souls who had managed to get themselves stranded down here." I ignored his words, aware of what he was trying to do. Peter Pan was trying to make the remaining amount of hope I possessed of getting out of here and back to Henry dissipate. I matched his smirk.

"I will. I would never miss the opportunity to prove you wrong."

"That seems to be something that we have in common." He whispered. I kept my eyes on him and watched as he stepped back from me, preparing to fly off.

"Good luck escaping Aaralyn."

"Thanks."

"You'll need it."


	6. Chapter 6

**Agh you guys, Christmas was so awesome. 0_0 I loved it. Hope you all had a great Christmas too. ;D Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for your INCREDIBLE reviews. They all made me so happy. :D **

**This week seems to have lasted forever, but I can finally update again! I have a lot of chapters pre-written but I like updating weekly. Keeps things interesting. ;) Enough of my ranting! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

I watched as Peter shot me one more smirk before he turned and flew away, leaving me at the top of the cliff. I reigned in the urge to just pick up a rock and chuck it at him as revenge for not taking me with him. Honestly, I had never really expected him to agree to my suggestion of getting me out of here, but it hadn't hurt to try.

"Idiot." I whispered at his retreating body. Unsure of what to do next, I just looked down at the ground before sitting back on the grassy cliff. That climb up here had really sucked up all of my energy, and it hadn't helped to have to deal with Peter once I reached the top. I stretched out my legs and leaned back on my hands, finally giving my thoughts the opportunity to run wild. Once I let myself think, a million thoughts popped in and out of my head, all of them bouncing around, begging for my attention. I decided to focus on the most recent events that had happened down here.

I knew that Peter was going after the 'heart of the truest believer' but was he really so desperate to get it that he would just leave me to die? I scoffed in response to my own question. Of course he would leave me down here, because he was afraid that I would get to Henry before he could force the boy to give him what he wants. Peter, however, phrased all of that into the lame excuse of wanting to see what else I could do. I pulled my knees up to my body and wrapped my arms around them.

What was up with Pan's lack of knowledge on personal space? I admit that he's cute, but I wasn't exactly sure how to handle a situation like the one he had created. Back in Storybrooke, I had never had a boyfriend or any good guy friends, so when Peter had gotten that close to me I practically froze up. I didn't exactly feel comfortable around him, but I wasn't against his company either. Frankly, I thought he was just an egotistical, spoiled, selfish jerk, but at this point I was desperate for any other human interaction. I say human interaction because something told me that the trees that had left a few minutes ago wouldn't exactly be capable of holding a conversation. I sighed and stood up, brushing the dirt off of my clothes.

Peter was most likely toying around with me anyway. It wouldn't exactly surprise me if he was since my whole life was pretty much a game to him already. I just had to win the game.

I looked back down at the ground beyond the cliff and saw the last of the trees making their way into the fog. I was at least grateful that I had already passed that obstacle. When I looked down at my hands, I finally noticed that it wasn't cold anymore. The air was surprisingly still, keeping the temperature at a comfortable one. I turned back around towards the side of the cliff that I had yet to explore and began to go down the moderate decline. It didn't surprise me that halfway down the cliff, there was a line of green trees, much like the ones I had first encountered when I arrived here. I sucked in a breath.

"Always trees with this place." I observed aloud. Not stopping to look at anything else, I walked straight into the new forest. I luckily hadn't obtained a fear of trees like I had with water. With the trees, I could at least outrun them but the water had been relentless. If the water hadn't stopped then I really would've died; I at least had found a way to escape the trees.

I pushed aside a large leaf that stood in my way and warily began to trek through the new forest, already expecting something terrible to happen. It almost bugged me that this place had me on edge, paranoid beyond belief, but I figured that it was for the best. If I was ready, then nothing could surprise me.

By the end of what I assumed to be a few hours, I was ready to just scream my head off. Nothing had shown up. It was just a forest. I jumped over a root that was protruding from the ground and nearly cried when I saw that the line if trees ended a few feet away from where I was. I let out a breath of relief and ran to it, smiling when I broke through the line of greenery.

Regrettably, my smile didn't get to last long, something I found was a common occurrence here. Before me was where all of the stone walls met with the ceiling and ground. There was a large stone wall before me, but that wasn't what made my cheerful mood float away like a dream. The wall had two entrances in it that looked like cave openings, both of them pitch black once you looked past the line of where the ground stopped and the cave began. There was absolutely no light coming from either entrance, and I'd be lying if I said that that didn't disturb me.

I'd have to pick an entrance. I groaned out loud, knowing that with the luck I possessed down here that I'd probably pick the worst doorway. I tried to comfort myself with the thought that both of the entrances were bound to be bad judging by the ominous darkness that outlined them, but it didn't do much.

Knowing that I'd eventually have to choose one of the cave openings, I took in a deep breath and walked back into the forest, searching. I grabbed a thick stick that was about the length of my calves and walked back out to the caves. Sitting down on the ground, I moved both of my hands to one of the sleeves on my gray tee. Peter was going to owe me a new shirt after all of this was over. I placed both hands by the seams of my shirt where the sleeves were attached and yanked, pulling the fabric apart by the seams. I repeated the process with the other sleeve until my former long sleeved shirt had become a tank top. Sliding the sleeves off of my arms, I wrapped one of them around the top of the stick and shoved the other one inside one of my skinny jeans's pockets.

I groped around the ground in search of two stones and came back successfully, striking them both together in an attempt to start a fire that would complete my makeshift torch. Not particularly wanting a repeat of last time, I held my arms out as far as I could from the unlit torch, not wanting to get burnt when the fire caught onto the fabric. I held my breath when a small spark finally caught onto my old shirt sleeve. When the sleeve began to burn normally, I exhaled in relief, grateful that I wouldn't be witnessing another mini explosion like the fire back at the beginning of The Forgotten Paths.

Swiftly picking up the torch, I stood in between both entrances, debating which one to take. Both of them would most likely hold some sort of dangerous challenge, but the real question was, which one of them would hold the least challenging one? I let my gaze dart from left to right, arguing with myself on which path to choose, but never coming up with a solid reason not to choose either one. So, deciding to take the risk, I hesitantly stepped towards the opening to my left, lifting the torch above me to illuminate the waiting darkness as I walked into the dark cave entrance, praying that this choice was the better one.

The flame from my torch only lit up a small amount of space, giving the narrow walls of the cave an eerie orange glow, but it was enough to see that I'd have a long walk before me, especially since I couldn't see a point ahead of me that gave off any light, confirming my suspicion that the exit wasn't just lying in wait. I'd most likely have to find it. Why couldn't I have just be given a map at the entrance?

Sighing in response to my own question, I continued on, occasionally lifting the torch higher above my head in an attempt to see more of the cave that I was in. No such luck. The darkness seemed to consume the light, never letting it pass a certain amount of space. It was annoying. I stared at the ground below me, not surprised when all I saw was dirt and rocks, indications of a normal cave. Maybe this place was just like the forest I had just abandoned had been; maybe I just had to walk on until I finally reached the exit.

Sadly, my theory was shot to dust when I saw an opening coming up on my left. Now I had to choose whether or not to go left or whether to continue on and go straight. I eventually decided to carry on in the direction I had originally been headed, shaking off the feeling that I should've turned. The feeling came back full force when I saw yet another opening, but this one was on my right. Again, I tuned out the feeling to change directions and head down the newly found path, persisting in my first direction. My mind yelled at me, asking the inevitable question of what could've happened had I chosen one of the other paths? Were the other ones a better choice than the one I was currently travelling down? I shook my head. If I kept thinking like that then I was bound to lose my mind down here.

I came to a standstill when I noticed thin strings blocking the path in front of me. Raising an eyebrow, I reached out with my free hand and touched one of them, letting out a disgusted sound when I realized that they were all sticky. I struggled to pull my hand back, but after a while, I was able to remove my hand from the strings, furiously wiping the remains of the sticky substance on my jeans.

"What is this stuff?" I wondered aloud, keeping my voice quiet. Not wanting to turn around and chance either if the other two tunnels, I slowly lowered my torch to the strings, figuring that they'd burn if I were to expose them to fire. What I didn't expect was just how intensely they'd ignite.

Right when the tip of the torch touched the sticky string, it almost looked as if someone had lit a firework. The string split right in the middle, both ends falling to the cave walls lazily. I watched as both ends began to spark like a fuse, travelling upwards to where they connected with the walls. Multiple colors were twisted within the sparks, giving it the appearance of a bright firework as it burned. The light that radiated off of the strings momentarily lit up the small part of the cave I was in, showing damp walls and a dusty floor. It was almost more spooky when it was lit up.

Soon enough, the sparks reached the end of their string, plunging me back into the dim light that my torch provided. I stood there for a moment, amazed, before I touched the fire to yet another string, producing the same results as before. I smiled as I realized that I wouldn't be completely helpless in this cave; I could easily ignite the other sticky strings before me and I'd be provided with far more light than my torch could deliver to me. It wasn't the greatest blessing ever, but it was enough to satisfy me. The bright colors that came from them also made me smile a little. It was silly to be amused by something as simple as fireworks in a dark cave, but I loved the distraction that it gave me.

Comforted by the new light source, I continued on through the cave, lighting ever string that blocked my path on fire. I noticed, though, that the further I progressed, the more strings that showed up. They all began to connect the further away I got from the entrance, seeming to form large webs. I rolled my eyes and continued to burn them, fascinated by the burst of color that the webs would produce.

I shuddered every time I came into contact with the strings though, receiving a bad vibe from each and every one of them. My mind began to run faster than was possible for me to comprehend, but I picked up the thought that something was terribly wrong. A part of me wanted to listen to that thought, but the other part kept wondering how there could ever be anything wrong with a place that made such beautiful lights. It just didn't make sense.

So, ignoring my gut feeling, I proceeded with my trek through the darkness, walking right past every single opening that would show up on my sides. My nerves were soothed every single time I saw the strings light up from my torch. It was nice to finally be able to let my guard down. Maybe I really had selected the safest cave entrance at the beginning of this endless tunnel.

A sudden scurrying sounded from somewhere in front of me, the darkness covering whatever had made the noise. It sounded close though. My eyes darted around, and I felt myself relax when I saw a tunnel opening to the right coming up. Keeping that in my mind as an escape route, I hesitantly lit the strings in front of me, hoping that I'd be able to see the source of the sound. I held my breath as a myriad of strings broke, all of them having been connected. The colorful lights immediately spread out, shining an incredible amount of light all through the cave. I held my breath when I saw a large, black leg dart back into an opening on the left side of the cave. Curious, I lit more strings around me and pushed on toward the opening that the leg had disappeared into.

I peered into the hole, moving my torch closer to it in an attempt to eliminate the darkness that covered the inside of the opening. There was an even narrower tunnel that went straight, but there was something different about this tunnel; there seemed to be a little more light emanating from within it. One of my eyebrows lifted. If there was light coming from the inside of this passage, then that had to mean that there was a hole or an exit nearby that allowed the light to stream through. I would've smiled and run straight into the passage had I not remembered the long, skinny, black leg I had seen only moments before. Did I really want to find out what that leg belonged to?

I looked around me and tried to decide whether or not I really wanted to leave my current route. If I went down this new path though, I'd at least have a hope of escaping these dark and dismal corridors. I closed my eyes, disbelieving of my own decision. I reluctantly took a step into the tunnel on my left, holding my breath as I abandoned my original direction.

I held the torch above my head, surprised when I didn't really see any more webs in front of me. I walked on through the cramped cave, comforted by the steadiness of my breathing. My heart was racing, apprehensive about the change of direction, but at least I had the self control not to show my fear through my breathing. I wasn't sure what the owner of that black leg would look like or what it'd do to me if it saw me prowling around the cave. I frowned when I realized that it probably already had seen me when I lit those webs up earlier.

Eventually, the confined pathway opened up into a large, stone clearing. I froze for the millionth time since being down here and gaped openly at the last obstacle I had to face. On the far end of the clearing, there was a doorway that marked the exit of these caves, the light from outside streaming in, lighting up the small area, leaving my torch useless as a source of light. If there had just been a doorway, I would've run to it, thankful that I had finally discovered the way out of these pitch black corridors. However, I had no such luck.

Standing in the way of my escape route, there were sticky webs decorating the room to the point where it was almost hard to see through them. There was layer upon layer of the webs, making them a lot thicker and a lot stronger than the ones out in the other passageway had been. My gaze followed the majority of the strings and I fought the very strong desire to let out a loud scream. There, resting atop the ceiling, was an enormous, black spider, undoubtedly larger than any spider should be allowed to be. All eight of its eyes were focused on me and I held my breath, staying as still as a statue would. The long, black legs attached to its body were definitely the kind of legs that I had seen in the tunnel. All across its head and body there were small hairs that seemed to protrude from its skin, giving it an even creepier appearance, but the one trait that made me want to run out screaming, were its pincers. They looked strong enough, and big enough, to just crush me between them. I swallowed and met the eyes of the spider...or at least trying to. It had six more that I wouldn't be able to match.

Suddenly desperate to either escape or return to the original passage, I took a shaky step back.

That had apparently not been the right move to make; I should've stayed put. The spider seemed to almost cock it's head at me before it's legs moved, swiftly bringing it down towards me. I watched, horrified by the sight that I was witnessing. It was unnatural...and it was running after me. I panicked and locked my gaze on the web's behind the spider. Desperately, I threw the torch to the nearest web, successfully catching it on fire, effectively lighting up the entire area, providing me with enough light to gather my thoughts before they completely abandoned me. Unfortunately, there wasn't time to sort out my thinking. The spider approached me, going from top speed to agonizingly slow, coming up to me as it would a fly if it were normal size. I waited, too afraid to do anything but watch the gigantic arachnid. It seemed my legs had been bolted to the floor and I was forced to just sit there, death swiftly advancing towards me.

Finally, the spider got close enough that the fact that I was about to die shot up to my brain and back down to my muscles. I jumped out of the way, falling to the floor, at the same moment that the spider's legs came down upon the spot where I had previously been. I scrambled to my full height, grateful that I had missed the force of the spider's lean legs, but still not willing to let myself rest. The spider turned towards me, glaring at me with all eight of it's emotionless eyes. It's thin mouth opened, revealing miniscule teeth that looked sharper than a knife, thin lines of spit or venom, or both, swinging between what could've been called its lips. I shrank back in fear, letting my eyes dart to the exit. There was no way I'd be able to make it out of this alive.

I backed up some more, tripping when my legs fell over an upturned rock that had been behind me. I landed right where a large clump of webs had been only moments before, the clear space now exposed with the destruction of the spider's web. I crawled backwards, avoiding the skinny legs of the spider while still trying to inch my way towards the exit. I couldn't help but marvel at how the strings I had lit a minute ago were still burning, catching other strings on fire. It was nice to have some light, but it didn't lighten my mood when it came to the black arachnid before me. It hissed, letting spit fly all over. I grimaced when some of the spit landed on the ground near to me. I kept crawling, moving one hand behind me at a time while keeping my eyes trained on the spider.

I jerked my hand back when it came into contact with something hard and crusty. I turned around and screamed, which seemed to only enrage the spider further, but I could care less. What I had found must have been concealed by the webs, now revealed since the strings that had been blocking it from my view were all burnt up, sparkling against the clearing walls. My hand had come into contact with an old, moldy blue coat. The coat was hanging loosely on a skeleton that, given the clothing on the deceased person, had been a pirate at one point in time. There was absolutely no more flesh on the corpse, indicating just how long it had been rotting in the spider's layer. No doubt that this man had been trying to get to the escape just as I was.

I felt my eyes light up when I scanned the dead body and spotted a sheath attached to a belt that now hung lazily around the deceased man's waist. I immediately grabbed for it, a wonderful feeling overcoming me when I realized that the sword that belonged to this sheath was still lying in wait, begging to be used. I groped for the handle of the sword, keeping my face straight while I tried to push aside the fact that there was a spider that was walking towards me, a threat radiating from it like a dark stormy cloud would over a city that was due for its occasional change of weather.

I finally yanked on the hilt of the sword, successfully pulling it out of its casing while turning around to face the beast, new sword at the ready. The blade was long and pointed at the edge, gleaming when the light hit it a certain way. The hilt could only be described as beautiful, lines of silver encompassing the area where your hand would rest, details sketched into the delicate metal. They were all images of the trees that you could find in the Enchanted Forest, and that made my stomach lurch in a sickening way. Whoever this had been had been someone from my old home.

I raised the sword at the spider, taking a threatening step towards it. I obviously wasn't doing a good enough job of intimidating the big, black arachnid seeing as it didn't even falter when I held a sword to it. Instead, it let out another loud hiss, showing off its fangs. Filled with new confidence when I had a means of defending myself, I advanced towards the spider, trying my best to match it's steps. I was still scared out of my mind, barely able to control my shaky hands, but I wanted to leave this place with my life. I glanced behind me and saw that the small flames that had been hopping from string to string had at last reached the cluster of webs that were blocking up the opening I would use to escape here. I only had to survive a little longer before I could leave.

The sound of the spider's pincers slamming together snapped me out of my hopeful fantasies of escaping here with my life. It ran towards me incredibly fast, now just barely a foot in front of me. I gulped and lowered my sword a little, unsure of how I'd be able to defend myself against a beast this large. The spider raised a foot and I slid beneath all of its legs. I barely cleared the last of the spider's legs when the spider suddenly slammed it's body down into the ground, most likely assuming that I was still beneath it. Now standing behind the spider, I gathered whatever courage I still possessed and jumped on top of the spider's bottom, the task made easy with its body on the ground. I used my hands to steady myself as I climbed to the head of the spider.

I held on for my life when the arachnid began to thrash around, violently whipping its body and ligaments around in an attempt to throw me off of it. I looked around for anything to grab onto and winced when I saw that I'd have to latch onto the spider's thin hair if I wanted to stay on it's back. Keeping the sword in one of my hands, I firmly seized a few of the spider's hairs, barely managing to cling onto it's back. With the hand that had been holding onto the sword, I unsteadily raised my arm, positioning the sword over the spider's middle, preparing to strike.

I let out a cry as I plunged the sword into the spider's back, praying that it had been a fatal strike. The arachnid let out a loud screech, the sound echoing off of the walls. I winced at the noise, fighting the urge to cover my ears in fear that I'd be thrown off of the large spider. The oversized monster didn't stop thrashing around even after I had impaled it, so I took in another breath.

Unconvinced that I had even come close to killing it, I pulled the sword out of the beast and repeatedly stabbed it, not certain that it was enough until the spider's movements and screeches came to an abrupt stop. It just stood there for a moment, not moving, until it's large body finally collapsed to the ground. I rolled off of the large spider, breathing heavily.

I stared at the ceiling of the spacious cave. The fire had already burned away the webs that had been blocking my escape, but I decided to just take a moment. I moved my head to the left of me, gazing at the large creature that I had just killed. I didn't feel any regret for getting rid of the beast, but I did feel some other emotion stirring inside of me. I could only describe it as a mixture of elation and shock. I rolled my head back so that I was still staring at the ceiling, sighing as the last of the strings began to burn. I pushed myself up off of the floor and walked over to the dead pirate that had quite possibly saved my life. It was sad that he had not had the same luck that I had, but I was grateful for his sword. I closed my eyes and reached down, undoing the belt with the sword sheath attached to it from his waist. I pulled it loose and knelt down to the corpse.

"Thank you." I whispered, hoping that he'd be able to hear me from wherever he was now. I stood and, after brushing it off, buckled the belt around my own waist. I slid the sword into the sheath and took one last look around before slowly walking to the exit, relieved to finally be able to leave this place. I picked up the torch that had placed itself a few feet from the door and sighed when I saw that my sleeve had been completely burned up, meaning that I'd have to use the one in my pocket if I wanted to use the torch again. My pace sped up when I neared the exit.

As I stepped out of the cave, I let out a happy mix between a laugh and an exhale. I couldn't have been in that cave for more than a few hours, but I had never been more relieved in my life to leave a place. The only other place that I could imagine me being happier to leave was The Forgotten Paths altogether. Honestly, it's like this place was dead set on murdering me; it had already given me a fear of water, something that I had never had a reason to fear before.

I closed my eyes and let the slight breeze rush past my face, savoring the fresh air that was outside. It was far better than the stuffy, damp air that had taken residence within the cave. The air ran over my now bare arms and made my flaming hair fly behind me. I rested my hands at my sides and looked at my new surroundings, unsurprised to see yet another green forest. I was convinced that this whole place was just one whole forest that was cut off by different obstacles.

"Well, you certainly look different." I groaned and looked to my right, sighing when I saw Pan leaning against a large boulder that was by the cave's exit, his arms crossed and his eyebrow raised yet again.

"Yeah, I had to make a few adjustments in order to survive." I bit out. His eyes scanned my body briefly.

"I can see that. I have to admit though, that I like this look a lot more than the one you had before you jumped down the chute that would lead you to the Paths." It was my turn to raise my eyebrow.

"I looked the same, Pan. The only thing I've changed is the state of my shirt." I said, confused. He chuckled and pushed himself off of the rock, once again getting closer and closer to me until we were less than a foot apart.

"No, Aaralyn. Before you entered this place, you were, for lack of a better word, weak. Spineless. Sure you were willing to fight my boys in order to save Henry, but you never had that glint of fire in your eyes that I see now. You're getting stronger Aaralyn, and, believe it or not, the look suits you." He explained. I just stared at him, halfway positive that he had lost his mind.

"You're delusional. As if you couldn't be called crazy before...this just adds onto that crazy factor you've got going for you." I said. He rolled his eyes.

"It doesn't matter though, Aaralyn," he said, using my name yet again, "everything you do to escape the Paths will prove pointless in the end, when I'll finally have Henry's heart." I narrowed my eyes and dared to take a step closer to him, almost eliminating the entire space between us, but not caring if I did.

"You'll get his heart over my dead body." I whispered, determined. My eyes bore into his and all he did was just return the stare.

"That might not take that long to accomplish down here." He whispered back, never breaking eye contact. I scoffed.

"It hasn't been very successful so far." I snapped, still keeping my voice low. He smirked.

"Well I can promise you that it doesn't get better from here on out. Your new sword won't be able to protect you, Aaralyn. Nothing will."

"I'll manage. In fact," I jabbed an accusing finger into his chest, "I'll do whatever it takes to keep my promise to Henry." He kept his smirk and put his hand on the one I had on his chest, still poking him with my finger. I felt something buzz through my hand when he touched it, but I ignored it, focusing on all of the hatred I held for the twit. He pushed my hand off of him and back to my side, taking his hand back immediately, an emotion crossing his face that I didn't recognize. It was swept away as quickly as it came and he was back to his smirking self.

"You talk big, but I think you know that you most likely won't escape this place with your life."

"Oh no, I'm quite sure that I'll escape here with my life because I've got to be able to ruin yours later." I said. He looked down at my face, frowning slightly when he saw the determination on my face. I WAS going to get out of here eventually, and after I saved Henry, I was coming after Peter. We didn't say anything for a while, both of us just standing there. Peter's face switched from a frown to a thoughtful expression. He smiled at me.

"I'll make you a deal, Aaralyn." He said. I rolled my eyes.

"No way. I don't even want to hear the deal."

"Why not?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"Because, I don't trust you to keep your end of any bargain." He sighed and then put both of his hands on my shoulders, keeping me still when I fought to get out of his grasp. His gaze bore into mine and, seeing that I wouldn't be able to easily escape his grasp, I stared back, angrily.

"Honestly Aaralyn, you'd be a fool not to accept this deal. We've both got nothing to lose, not really." He said, asking me to understand with his eyes. His eyes weren't gentle though, they were daring. He was daring me to say no again. I shoved his hands off of my shoulders, unnerved by the tingling sensation that ran over them from his touch, but thankful that my shirt fabric had still covered the part of my shoulders that he had grasped.

"What is it?" I asked, not wanting to back down from the challenge in his eyes. He grinned.

"If you can get through the next trial, I'll willingly take you back up to the surface of Neverland." I gaped at him and looked at the awaiting forest. He was right; I didn't have anything to lose with agreeing to this deal. However, I felt my body tense when his words really sink in. What was the next challenge? Was it really that bad? I met his eyes again and nodded. This was the best chance I had on getting back to Henry. I wasn't stupid though; I knew that if he did take me back to the surface, then I would most likely be dropped off at the furthest place possible from Henry.

"Deal." I said simply. He smirked and stepped back, creating space between us.

"Great. Maybe I'll see you later." He said, not sounding like he was convinced that we would meet again. I rolled my eyes.

"Looking forward to it." I said in the most sarcastic voice I could manage. He took another step back and flew up into the air, soaring over the forest that I was going to have to travel through. I sighed, looking at the forest. I swallowed and clenched my hands at my sides. This wasn't going to be good.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone, sorry about the confusion with chapter 6. I DID UPLOAD IT, but it didn't register for some reason. :/ **

**GO BACK AND READ CHAPTER 6 OR THIS WILL MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. And...leave a review on 6? ;) **

I had to do it; I had to go in there. I gulped and began to step towards the forest, trying my best to keep my breathing under control. What could possibly be worse than giant spiders and viscous trees? Looking down at my moving feet, I realized that there were plenty of things that could easily be considered worse than the other two options.

I shook my head; Pan was most likely just trying to make me nervous. There was probably nothing to worry about, and I was most likely overreacting...yet I didn't feel like Peter would just offer me a one way ticket out of this hell hole. There had to be a reason that he would even extend that invitation. I closed my eyes. No matter what lie behind those trees, I'd have to go in there. Henry needed me.

With new resolve, I picked up the pace and jogged straight into the forest, shifting into a run in an attempt to get out of this forest as quickly as possible; not wanting to go up against anything that could possibly kill me.

I winced every time a branch scratched my cheeks, feeling the hot sting left behind from the tree's slap. Like the forest before the caves, there seemed to be no ending to the greenery. The trees seemed to just be repeating themselves; making it practically impossible to find an exit. I let my eyes roam all around as I ran, searching for any opening that would indicate the end of this particular forest, desperate to just escape it so that I could find Henry. The kid had to be so worried. I had no idea how long I had been down here, but I knew that if I didn't hurry, then Henry would give up on me. It's not like he'd want to; he'd just slowly lose hope, one hour at a time. He'd realize that with every passing minute that I wasn't there, was another minute that he'd have to wait to be saved. I could only hope that his family was having far better luck than I was, because I KNEW that they'd come for him. If there was one thing the Charmings were famous for, it was finding each other despite all of the odds.

I pushed aside a wall of vines, keeping my pace while running. I had no desire to meet whatever Pan thought was so terrible about this particular forest.

After continuous running, I was half convinced that Peter HAD lied to me and my legs slowly began to burn, the exhaustion catching up to them. I grimaced at the pain and then I reduced my speed to a slow jog, feeling my muscles almost become to heavy for my body, refusing to hold me up any longer. I stopped completely and looked around; this green forest didn't seem like it was going to be holding any secret dangers, but I had been wrong before. My legs wobbled and I stumbled in order to keep my balance. I wasn't going to get much further tonight if my legs were the judge. My panic struck eyes darted around frantically, keeping a lookout while I debated with myself on whether or not I wanted to force myself to push on.

It's true that I wanted to get out of here and to Henry as quickly as time would allow, but I wasn't going to be any use to him if I had used up all of my energy by the time I got to him; then we would both be defenseless against Pan's wrath. Reluctantly, I complied with my body's request to take a breather. Once I had sat down on the ground, my senses began to run in overdrive, straining themselves to focus in on anything that seemed unnatural in fear of being attacked if I let my guard down. I held my breath and refused to let myself relax, uncertain of what was waiting out there.

I finally decided- after an hour of waiting- that it might be safe enough for me to at least catch a couple minutes of sleep. After all, it hadn't taken me that long to feel refreshed when I was up on the surface of Neverland. I had closed my eyes and had almost immediately felt rejuvenated, but I wasn't sure if that same trick would work again, let alone down here.

A slight breeze blew through the endless amount of leaves, running over my bare arms with enough force to make me realize that I needed to find something to stay warm if I wanted to rest for the night...or day...or whatever time it was. I pushed myself off of the ground with a slight groan and ambled over to where there were dry sticks lying on the ground; I'd have to make yet another fire. I piled all of the firewood that I could find on the ground, but no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find any trace of dry grass to use as kindling. My eyes scoured over the foliage around me, looking for anything that I could use as a base for my fire; it didn't have to be big, it just had to be able to burn.

My gaze caught onto a dull flash of purple and I turned in that direction, smiling when I saw dried up flowers. It shocked me at first; after all, everything is supposed to thrive with life on the island, but I didn't want to question the blessing that I had just discovered. Some things just had to die, and there wasn't a thing this island could do about it; everything had to run its course. I greedily grabbed at the fragile flowers, ignoring their pungent scent while I tossed them onto the pile of sticks, watching as the delicate petals crumbled whenever they ever came into contact with another hard surface. After that had been taken care of, I searched around for two rocks, planning on repeating the same process that I had when I had lit my torch; the same one that had decided to burn out. To my dismay, there weren't any rocks around the area that would be usable to light a fire with. I moved bushes and countless saplings, but there weren't stones that I could create a spark with. Another frigid wind rolled over me, reminding me why I was searching for these rocks in the first place. My teeth chattered and I began to frantically flail my hands across the ground, feeling my way around in an attempt to find some rocks.

When my search turned out unsuccessful, I turned on my heel and stomped back over to where my fire WOULD'VE been had I been able to find two freaking rocks to light it. I sat on the ground, pulling my knees close up to my body, deciding that I would just have to tough it for the night considering that my scavenge for the rocks turned out to be fruitless. I dropped my head onto my knees, clenching my teeth. All I had needed was a fire. A. Bloody. Fire. I screamed in frustration, letting out everything that I had been feeling throughout my entire trip down here in the tunnels beneath Neverland. If I had known that it would've only taken a fire to break my collected facade, then I would've brought matches. Or a lighter. Or a blow torch. Another cold wind caused goosebumps to pop out all along my arms, evidence to just how cold the wind was getting to be. I was experiencing a strange case of deja vu from the first forest I had been in. The cold was unrelenting and seemed determined to break me right then and there, getting to the point where it was blowing my hair behind me roughly while slowly inching to an incredibly low temperature. I gritted my teeth, refusing to show just how much this cold weather was affecting me; it would pass soon enough.

While it raged on, oblivious to my thoughts, I kept my mind distracted from the cold, focusing on how it would feel to have a roaring fire before me; the heat radiating away from its source until it reached me. I imagined the glowing light that the fire would cast on my face, comforting me with its warmth and light. I sighed and tightened my grip on my knees, forcing the blood to rush through my veins. I just needed a fire. That was all. I knew that I would be okay for the night if I could just get a flame going. I raised my head, eyes still closed, and let the wind rush over my face, that part of me not being irritated by the temperature change.

A sudden whooshing sound rang out before me and I opened up my eyes in shock to a sight that just didn't have any logic behind it. A warm fore was crackling in front of me. I craned my neck from my spot on the floor, searching to see if anyone else was there, but my gaze couldn't focus on a single thing except for the fact that I was the only person here. I stared, dumbfounded. I couldn't have caused this fire...right? I sighed and then considered the possibility. Neverland was famous for providing a safe haven for lost or unloved kids, giving them whatever they needed to find comfort in the place. I wasn't lost though; alone, yes. Lost, no. I had plenty of friends that I believed in to the ends of the world and back. Heck, I'd trust more than half of them with my life, so there was no way that the island was just helping me. I stood up and hesitantly stood before the fire, unsure if what I was assuming could be true. I lifted a foot and began to stomp out my fire, casting aside the hard work that I had contributed to its eventual light.

I sat down and stared at some of the ashes, not certain that the idea that was circling my brain could possibly be true. I closed my eyes and imagined a warm fire to shield myself from the cold with. My eyes opened and immediately sunk with disappointment. All that was before me was a sad pile of ashes. I clenched my teeth yet again. I had to have been the one to start the fire; there was no other way. There was no one else around, and I hadn't touched anything. It HAD to have been me, and I honestly couldn't believe anything else had caused it. I had lit the fire.

I gasped as a spark caught onto the other remaining sticks, starting yet another fire. My mouth hung open, amazed at the sight. I had been right then. I shook my head. It did explain the fire in the first forest, how it had lit when I knew that it would eventually. This was just too surreal. I looked around, almost hoping that this was some elaborate trick that someone else was pulling; I wouldn't even care if Pan was behind it. I had no clue what my newfound talent meant, but I knew without a doubt that I wouldn't be telling anyone else about it unless I could trust them. Who knows, maybe I could only do this on Neverland? I certainly hadn't been capable of this back in Storybrooke; then again, I had never really needed anything physically, let alone a fire.

I suddenly felt my eyelids begin to close despite my want to stay awake and try to understand what had just happened. Maybe I had just gotten lucky? I'd just have to try again later I guess. My eyes fluttered, barely taking in the disgusting odor that the purple flowers gave off, the smell creeping its way up my nostrils. I finally drifted off, giving my body the well deserved rest that it required.

_I trembled, afraid of what I was seeing. It had been an incredibly long time since The Evil Queen had visited our village, striking fear into everyone who dared to meet her gaze. The last time she had visited, it had been to collect taxes from the entire village. She hadn't cared if someone wasn't able to pay; she seemed to think that their lives were swift recompense._

_Considering all of this, I couldn't help but wonder why she was here now; our taxes had recently been paid to the guard who had become our tax collector a while ago in place of the Queen._

_The flames from the various torches being held by other guards licked at the midnight sky, illuminating the small area. I looked over at my mother. Her red hair was billowing behind her as we walked to where the queen wanted to speak to the entire town. As we approached the other townspeople, she looked at me, refusing to show any emotion in her eyes. I raised an eyebrow, unsure of the message she was silently trying to convey. With a hurried glance around she leaned closer to me, our heights almost identical even though I was 17 and she was 38._

_"Run into the forest." She whispered, a tone of authority in her words. I gazed at her, confused._

_"Why? The Queen just wants to talk with us...right?" My mother didn't answer that question. Instead, she stared intently into my eyes. This time, I got her message. She had no clue what was about to happen...but it wasn't looking good._

_"What about you?- and dad?" I asked, my voice shaking while I stood on my toes, searching for him; he had been with us when we left, but I hadn't seen him for a while._

_"We'll be fine; I'm worried about you." She said, placing both of her hands on my shoulders. I didn't know what to say, but before I could come up with something, mother's eyes darted around furiously. She sighed when one of the guards walked towards some of the slower moving citizens. With one last, she smiled at me._

_"I'm not leaving you." She ignored me._

_"I love you. Remember that." I fought back a tear that was threatening to spill down my face. There was no way that this was the end._

_"I love you too." She pulled me into an embrace and then pushed me towards the opening where the guard had left, urging me to hide in the surrounding trees. I stumbled back a few steps before regaining my balance, hesitantly beginning to sneak towards the trees. Something was terribly wrong._

_"Whatever happens, Aaralyn..don't leave the trees." She commanded me. I nodded, deciding to do whatever it was that would please her. I'd most likely see her later tonight, but I could tell that she didn't want to take any chances. My legs hit the ground, slightly upsetting some leaves. Other than that, I was totally silent, not wanting to break my cover. I climbed one of the larger trees, constantly having to untangle my skirt from different branches. Once I reached a high branch, I peeked through the green of the trees, keeping an eye on my town and the people in it, all of whom were gathered together. I had to squint, the darkness not exactly doing wonders for my vision._

_I held my breath when my gaze caught onto my parents, both of them holding hands while occasionally glancing up at me. They were both being subtle enough that it wasn't noticeable to others, but every time their eyes met mine, it felt like my heart was going to drop._

_Everyone's backs straightened the moment The Evil Queen came into view. She stared at them with cold eyes, scrutinizing everything about my neighbors and friends while the rest of the villagers were brought in to the small group. When it seemed that everyone in town had been accounted for, she straightened her posture and I felt a sudden cold chill take over my body. What was she doing?_

_"Snow White has betrayed you," she took another step closer to them, glaring at their frightened faces, "She poisoned her own father, my dear husband," Her voice seemed to drop to a lower octave when she said that, making it sound like she was truly upset by the passing of her spouse, but everyone in the town knew better; we knew that there was something dark about this queen. "Your benevolent king!- So she can try to ascend the throne herself!" She raised her voice and I watched in horror as the faces that I knew from my town flinched at her tone._

_"She even now stalks the outer villages! Bandit, Murderer, and...traitor," the townspeople huddled together, "Information leading to Snow's capture will be richly rewarded." She smiled at the people. She knew that my town was a poor one and that some of us desperately needed that money, but we all adored Snow White. We knew the hidden truth behind the Queen's words. Snow White was not a murdered, or any of the things she had been accused of. She was just an obstacle that the Queen wished to see removed. However, we wanted to see Snow White win. Not one person said anything, unwilling to give up our only hope. The Queen's smile faded into resentment._

_"No one?" She stalked towards the people and stood before them, a truly terrifying expression decorating her face. My heart clenched to see my friends so afraid; to see my parents so afraid. They grasped hands as tight as they possibly could, not wanting to show their fear through their facial emotions._

_"Not one of you wants gold?" Regina asked, not believing her own words. She looked at every face that she could make eye contact with. She began to stalk along the lines of the villagers._

_"No? You're telling me she lived here and not one of you saw her?!" She asked angrily. She knew that the other people from my town were lying, completely unconvinced that we really hadn't. It had been a better place with Snow White here; we had had the chance to meet her and we all instantly fell in love with her. She would make a wonderful ruler. The Queen waited for a few seconds more before stomping back over to her guards. She began to talk with one of them, but their voices were far too quiet for me to pick up. I strained my hearing as hard as I possibly could, but all I could her were her final words, spoken with malice dripping from every word._

_"Find me Snow White." She growled before walking past them. I let out a sigh. Maybe she would just go and leave us._

_My thoughts didn't have time to take back that statement before the guards surrounded my village. My mother and father looked up at me one last time, both of them mouthing the three words everyone loves to hear, but in this case I didn't want to hear them. The guards began to murderously kill my friends and my family, not showing a single shred of mercy. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I refused to scream or call out. My parents wouldn't have wanted that. So, I cried._

_I cried when the guards left all of the bodies on the floor; I cried when they all lied there, unmoving; I cried when the sun came up. My whole town had been slaughtered, leaving me alone. My body numbly climbed down the tree I had been in, forcing itself to walk over to the two bodies I knew the most. My knees gave out and I fell to the ground by my parents, unable to control the sobs that racked through my body when I saw that their hands were still clasped together._

My body jerked awake, my limbs moving wildly in a panic. I let out a short scream, feeling tears drip down my face at the haunting memory. A loud sob escaped my mouth, forcing me to cover it with my hand so that it wouldn't be so loud. I crumpled on the floor, uncaring that the fire was now out, completely wrapped up in the worst memory I had ever pushed away. My hands moved from my body to the ground, holding me up so that I didn't completely fall to the dirty surface below me.

I looked over at the burnt out fire and stared at the remains of the purple flowers; they were almost completely unharmed, and their scent still hung around me. How could they not have burned?

I wiped my face with my bare arm, making myself stand up before the fire and look around me. I was still in the last forest that Peter had told me to get through if I wanted to be free of this place. I wiped the last of my tears away and straightened myself out, brushing the dirt off of me and running a hand through my hair. Not letting a single emotion escape me after my sudden outburst, I put a hand on my sword and continued on through the forest, ready to get this all over with.

My feet crunched the fallen leaves that were scattered across the forest floor, reminding me all too much of the crunching of leaves beneath my feet on the night my mom sent me to the trees. I shook my head, refusing to let my memories affect me right now.

"Aaralyn." I flipped around, recognizing the warm voice that had been with me most of my life. The same voice that had told me to run to the trees. I let out a shocked gasp when I saw a hazy version of my mother and father standing before me, both of their faces completely devoid of emotion. Their hands were attached. I stumbled back a few steps, amazed and terrified at the two visions before me.

"Mom? Dad?" I whispered. Neither one of them answered, yet both of their eyes were still staring at me in an eerie way.

"You could've saved us Aaralyn. You didn't have to hide in those trees. You could've stopped the Queen." My face contorted into one that was covered in pure hurt. Was my mom right? Could I have saved them? I closed my eyes, wishing for them to be gone; for them to leave me alone. This wasn't real. It couldn't be.

"Don't fight it Aaralyn," My father said in his low, familiar tone, "you know it's the truth." I clamped my hands down on my ears so hard that I wouldn't be surprised if bruises formed.

"I couldn't have!" I yelled at them, tears brimming my eyes. Why were they hear? They both continued to glare, disappointment reaching their eyes.

"You let us die."

"The Evil Queen murdered us-"

"-and you haven't even bothered to take revenge." My mother spat. My eyes widened in horror at her words; my mother had always been a kind of person. She would never encourage revenge, not in a million years.

That fact didn't do anything to stop the rush of guilt that ran through me at the words that exited my mother's mouth. I had never taken revenge out on Regina, it was true. In fact, she most likely didn't even know that I had been there to witness her heartlessly kill my parents. I avoided her, but I was still incredibly angry. Murder wasn't something that I could just overlook.

A sudden rush of anger ran through my body towards Regina. She had caused ALL of this, and it hadn't been fair to anyone. She deserved to be punished, but I quickly pushed those thoughts aside. I wouldn't let myself simmer, not now.

"I won't." I mumbled.

"You would if you want to honor our memories." My father bit out. I looked away, ignoring the tears that slipped down my face. This wasn't right. I shook my head fiercely, trying to shake away everything before me. Revenge wouldn't solve anything. What was done was done. There was no way to fix it. I bolted, running back in the direction that would hopefully lead me out of the forest. My parents' voices still rang out as if they were still standing with me.

"You're a disgrace."

"Where did we go wrong with you?"

"Completely useless, that's what you are."

"Coward."

"Did you want us to die in vain?!"

Tears freely poured down my face at this point, caused by the harsh words that my parents were saying. I knew that they weren't really here, but when they yelled harsh words at me, it still hurt. My parents would never be as terrible as these two fake ones, but the words that the imposters were saying still hit home. Was I supposed to take revenge? I didn't want to. I shut my eyes for a second and continued running through the foliage, unaffected by the harsh sting of passing branches. Their voices followed me all through the forest, shouting heavy words at me that only made the tears roll down my cheeks faster. These weren't my real parents, but is this how they really felt when they looked up at me for the last time that night?

"We sacrificed our lives for nothing. You will never be the daughter we hoped for." Those were the last words I heard before I broke through the line of trees, quickly turning around to face the forest again. Silence. A slight breeze blew the leaves around, making the forest look somewhat peaceful.

Suddenly having the opportunity to think, I broke down crying, my sobs coming out as strangled, tortured cries. My hands twisted themselves into my hair, trying to fight off the headache that was looming in my mind from crying while running.

I abruptly understood why Peter had made that deal with me at the entrance of this forest. This forest was, without a doubt, the worst place in the Paths. While all of the other challenges were physically straining, this one had pulled up memories and hidden thoughts that I had tried to push away for a good portion of my time in Storybrooke. I closed my eyes, moving one of my hands to rest on my forehead. I looked up at the forest again, slowly backing up while I remembered their last words before I escaped. More tears fought their way to the surface, causing more streaks to form on my cheeks.

Just the thought of my parents being disappointed in me made me want to cry even harder, but I tried my hardest to keep every single tear that wanted to escape held in. The voices had been so loud, unrelenting. How had my parents even shown up? Was this island dead set on murdering me physically AND emotionally. I closed my eyes once again, trying to clear my head in order to form any kind of comprehensible thought.

All I could think of was the insults and disappointed statements that had rushed out of the mouths of my parents, cutting deep into my heart. I glared at the forest, outraged at the way it made me doubt my own parents. I slowly began to back up, fighting off more tears. I didn't want to cry anymore; I wanted to burn this whole forest down. The tears came freely once again, seeming to never end.

My mind was currently plagued by the thought that now when I thought of my parents, the first thing that would come to my mind would be their unrealistic images that had shouted things so out of character for them. After all, if they had given up their lives for me, there was no room in my mind to doubt their love...it did make me doubt what they really wanted for me though. When they had given their lives up, I had assumed that it was so that I could have my best chance on living life. Now, however, I couldn't help but wonder if they wanted something extremely different. Did they want me to take revenge? My parents would never suggest anything like that, but now that they're dead, it's not like I can ask them. They loved me, but what did they want?

I continued backing up, overcome with sadness, until my back hit something silent. I just leaned my head back on the hard surface, grateful for the support it provided when I felt as though I could fall at any moment. I let out a shuddering breath when I finally was able to stop the tears from flowing.

Slowly, two arms wound themselves around my middle, pulling me closer to what I had thought had been just an ordinary hard surface. Where the arms touched my middle, a sudden heat began to bloom from them. My eyes burst open as I realized who the arms had to belong to. I turned around, unable to escape the hold I was in, coming face to face with Peter. He raised an eyebrow at my expression of shock and just pulled me closer. I tried to break away from him, angry that he had made me go through all of that; that he made me relive emotions that I had buried deep within myself.

I thrashed around, not wanting to be held, but his grasp only tightened.

"Hold on tight." He said, his British voice far from sounding kind. I was about to scream at him but my cries were muffled when I saw that he was lifting off of the ground, taking me with him. I begrudgingly held on, wrapping my arms around his neck, not wanting to fall.

He was taking me out of here, like he had promised.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against his chest, trying to catch my breath from the sudden burst of relief that shot through me, despite seeing my parents like that. I had no idea what to do about my parents, but I did know that I had no desire to take revenge, even if that was what my parents wanted.

Everything became clear when we left the confines of the horrible tunnels.

I could repay my parents by saving someone else's life. I had to save Henry from Pan. I felt nothing but anger towards the lost boy that was currently clutching me close, but I wanted to enjoy this moment of a small victory.

I made it out of the forest, even though it had truly been the hardest thing I had to go against. I had proved him wrong, and that made a hesitant smile run across my face as he flew us over the island.


	8. Chapter 8

**It's my birthday! \(0o0)/ I'm so glad my birthday fell on a Saturday so I could update today! ENJOY!**

My brow furrowed when Peter landed at the edge of his camp, the fire barely in sight from where we were standing. I had assumed that he was going to take me to the farthest place possible where I wouldn't be able to get to Henry.

Pan's feet hit the ground, and I immediately pushed away from him, unsettled by the warm feeling that ran through me when his arms were around me. It was more than a little disconcerting to be...comfortable in his grasp. I didn't like it.

His arms dropped back down to his sides while his gaze focused on me, meeting my eyes silently. He didn't say a word, but I already felt the need to leave his company and run to Henry, knowing that he was undoubtedly here at the camp. I even opened my mouth to call for him, but before I could get the chance to speak, Peter was already standing before me, his hand on my mouth. I glared at him and tried to back up, but his other hand went to the small of my back, keeping me in place. He glared at me, his green eyes holding a warning in them.

"Don't." Peter said in a low voice, almost whispering. I raised one of my eyebrows and fought the urge to lick his hand so that he'd move it. He seemed to understand my slight confusion.

"I brought you here so that I can keep an eye on you. Henry will never know you're here." He stated, his voice explaining to me that these were going to be facts. I was going to be kept here without Henry knowing. I scoffed beneath his hand, positive that he couldn't do anything to keep me from Henry. I was never one to back down from promises. He laughed at my determination.

"Trust me when I say that you won't be making any contact with Henry during your stay here. Your presence is only required so that I know that you won't cause trouble for me." His eyes narrowed, holding an accusation behind them, but I was unsure of what that accusation was. I brought my hands up and roughly pushed him off of me, taking a few steps back.

"And how do you propose that you're going to manage that?" I asked, keeping my voice low as well. I wasn't dumb enough just to yell out to Henry when I didn't know the consequences of doing it; Peter could hurt Henry for all I knew, although I doubted that that was possible considering the teen needed the small boy to live. Pan smiled at me and stepped even closer.

"You seem like the type of person that would do anything to protect the people you love." He said, stating what he thought to be obvious. I crossed my arms and met his green gaze.

"That's not true because I don't love anyone. Everyone I love has been taken away from me." I bit out. Peter raised his eyebrows at this, acting surprised. I knew that he was faking it though because there was no way that he'd have been able to miss the conversation I had with my 'parents' out in the forest.

"You love Henry enough to keep him safe." Peter said, smirking at me while he took another step closer in my direction. He got to the point where we were once again only a foot away from one another. I smirked back, seeing what he was trying to do.

"I know that you won't hurt him, Pan. You need him alive." I said victoriously. He looked down at the ground, smiling once again before removing even more space between the two of us.

"Unfortunately for you, the only thing that Henry wants is his family. I wonder what he would think if he were to hear that they had died. I'm sure it'd be a shock to us all." He clutched a hand over his chest where his heart should be in mock hurt. I scowled at him, not believing how low Pan was willing to go just to get a boy's heart.

"You wouldn't." I tried to convince myself. Pan chuckled before leaning in towards me, his lips right next to my ear.

"I would, Aaralyn. So, I think it'd be a smart decision on your part to just obey my orders." He whispered, his breath tickling my ear. I stared at him in anger when he backed away, enraged at his cruelty.

"You would kill a twelve year old boy's family just to make sure that I won't call out to him?" I asked incredulously. Peter shrugged.

"I'm not exactly the best person out there, Aaralyn, but I know what I want; what I need." He said, staring straight into my eyes. My face was completely swept of all emotion as I glared at him before clenching one of my fists and swinging it at his face, making solid contact with his cheek, catching him by surprise. His head whipped back, taking in the impact from my fist. He slowly turned his head back, brushing one of his hands across his lips and coming back with blood. I had given him a split lip, but I didn't have time to celebrate or take another swing.

His olive green eyes bore into my bright green ones, malice seeping from his gaze. I took a step back, only slightly frightened by his stance. He looked ready to kill me, and for a minute, I was one hundred percent positive that he was considering it.

"That wasn't very nice." He said slowly, annunciating every word. I brought my hands back up to cross over my chest once again. I matched his look, sending every ounce of anger I felt towards him his way just with my eyes.

"Sorry." I said as sarcastically as possible, not meaning it at all. Punching him had given me a weird kind of satisfaction that immediately lifted my spirits after he had caused so many people an exponential amount of pain. He shook his head, a laugh escaping him. I stared at him. Laughing? How can he laugh after I just punched him? If anything, I should be laughing at him.

"You've certainly got spirit," He said. His face immediately went from amusement to seriousness in seconds, "Now, are you going to keep quiet, or will I have to have my shadow send Henry's family a message?" He asked. I immediately thought back to when Tamara and Greg had brought Henry and I here. Pan's shadow had viciously ripped Greg's shadow away, instantly killing him. I shook my head, silently telling Pan that I would keep away from Henry to protect his family. Peter smiled.

"I knew that you were one to keep the people you love safe." He pointed out. I rolled my eyes, pushing back the desperate need to wipe the smugness off of his face.

"I don't love them. I just care enough about them to protect them." I stated. Peter clicked his tongue.

"Surprisingly, I believe you. Anyway, you've made the right decision in this situation." He said.

"Where exactly am I supposed to be to keep away from Henry?" I asked through grit teeth. Peter stepped closer to me once again before he tilted my head up so that I was looking at the sky.

"Can you see it?" He asked me. I stared up at the dark sky that was decorated by stars.

"I can see the night sky, but that's it." I explained, wrenching my face out of his loose grasp on my chin. I took a few steps back from him, convinced that he had finally gone completely insane. He ignored my avoidance of him and instead pointed up.

"Look again, Aaralyn." He said, his voice sounding as though he was talking to a child. I glared at him before glancing up again. My mouth formed a perfect 'O' when I saw what he had wanted me to see.

He had used magic to cover up one of the grandest things I had ever seen.

A couple large tree houses were built into the trees above us, looming over the entire camp. All of them were made with a light brown wood except for one; one of them had been constructed using wood so dark that it could almost be considered black. I could only assume that that one belonged to Peter; it seemed to fit his personality pretty well.

I looked back over at Pan and saw that he was looking at me funny, as if I was a puzzle. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What?"

"Well, what do you think? I think that it's pretty fantastic." He said, admiring the tree houses above us. I scoffed and looked back up at the trees as well. It really was amazing. All of the houses were really huge, taking up four to five trees each. I didn't realize I was staring when Peter walked up next to me, being careful to avoid making contact. Good.

"This is where you'll be staying."

"For how long?" I asked, whipping my head in his direction. How long was I supposed to stay here? He couldn't be serious!

The glint in his eyes told me otherwise.

"For as long as I say so." He said, sounding like a child. I backed away from him.

"You can't keep me here." I said, clenching my teeth in defiance. I wasn't going to just be locked up like some kind of dog. He laughed again, the warm sound filling the air around us.

"Of course I can, Aaralyn. This is MY island, and I get to do whatever I want on it. I make the rules." He stated.

"Then you're playing a very stupid game." I bit out. He shook his head.

"I'm winning. That's all you have to know about the game." He said, never breaking eye contact, his gaze fierce. His hand got a tight grip around my left forearm, grasping it so tightly that I wouldn't be surprised if I received a nasty bruise. I tried to shake him off, but was once again met with failure. He flew us up to one of the tree houses, all of them connected by small bridges that ran from one porch to another.

Not caring if he dropped me, I continued to wriggle around in an attempt to escape him.

"Let me go!" I yelled up at him. He ignored me, again, and dropped me off at one of the porches. Literally dropped me. I fell to the hard wood with a thump, all of the air being pushed out of me. I tried to gasp in as much air as I could to make up for the oxygen lost, breathing loudly while my body recovered from the shock of hitting one of the porches with force.

"Happy?" He said, sounding all too smug. I shot him a deathly look, promising him that I'd get him back for this.

"That's for punching me. Maybe you'll think twice about making stupid decisions that will only bring you pain later on." He said, his voice firm. I shot him a pained smile.

"I'd still punch you in a heartbeat, Pan." I wheezed out, slowly making my way back up to my feet. He gently floated to the ground of the porch, standing before me while he waited for me to raise up to my full height. When I did he moved his arm to the side, gesturing towards the door of one of the light brown tree houses. I roughly pushed his hand down, stomping to the entrance of the house and stepping inside.

I was actually surprised at how empty it was.

There were countless animal furs piled in one corner of the room, making a large bed, and in all the other corners, there was nothing but cobwebs. I looked back at Pan.

"You really went full out on this place, didn't you?" I said sarcastically. He stood in the doorway.

"Just remember what I said about Henry. Don't make me take away his family like Regina took away yours." I froze. He had seen me in the forest.

I turned around to confront him, an impassive look on my face. I wouldn't give this egotistical, selfish, and spiteful guy before me the satisfaction of letting him know the truth in what he said. I walked straight up to the doorway, staying a short distance away from him. His face looked eager, as if awaiting my response to his words.

"If you hurt Henry at all, I won't hesitate to be the first one to run a sword through your middle." I said, face completely serious. He raised an eyebrow in shock, and I just slammed the door in his face. It was childish, but it definitely brought me a strange kind of satisfaction.

I put my back to the door and slid down it's length, listening for when Peter would leave. After a few seconds, I heard the sound of some nearby leaves rustling, so I took that to mean that he had gone. I sighed loudly.

I had to find a way out of here.

I stood and opened the door, surprised that it wasn't locked, dashing out of the large house and out into the great outdoors. The sky was still dark, as it had been throughout the entirety of my trip here, but the stars were bright enough to illuminate everything around me. I looked around for anything that could assist me in getting down from these houses, and when my eyes spotted a ladder descending from one of the porches to the ground, a sick feeling swept over me, making my stomach feel queasy. Why had Pan left me alone when I could just escape? He didn't really expect me to stay put, did he? Even though every shred of sense I had warned me not to go down that ladder, I found my hands suddenly gripping the coarse wood of one of the ladder pegs. I slowly descended, waiting for Peter to show up any minute and take me right back to the top.

My uneasiness only increased tenfold when I my feet made contact with the ground, gently unsettling the dirt below me.

"Not one for following directions then?" I cringed and looked behind me to see Peter right there. Had he been waiting for me to climb down?

"Nope. I think of directions as loose guidelines." I stated, facing him completely. He smirked, but said nothing. We just stood there in silence, and I couldn't help but feel slightly awkward.

"You're more trouble than I thought you'd be, I'll give you that." He said suddenly, breaking the quiet atmosphere that had clouded around us, "In fact, you might be too much trouble." His eyelids lowered until he was looking at me through narrow slits. I stood my ground, but my hand found its way to my sword, carefully pulling it out. Pan eyed me.

"Don't make another stupid decision that you'll regret, Aaralyn." He said, speaking with a warning lilt in his voice. I raised my sword.

"Let me see Henry." I said, my voice unwavering. I wasn't afraid to fight him, even though I wasn't so sure that I'd win. He scoffed.

"You'd fight me just to see a boy that hardly knows you?"

"No. I'd fight you to try and reunite a boy back with his family." I said. Peter sighed.

"You're not getting it, are-" He suddenly stopped, his face looking like it was deep in thought, completely forgetting about my presence. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

Abruptly, a grin broke out on his face.

"Alright Aaralyn. I'll let you see him." I gaped at the psychotic boy in front of me, my face immediately spiraling into one of confusion.

"What?! You just told me that Henry's family would be in danger if I went and found Henry, and now you're telling me it's all fine if I just stroll right up to him? How am I supposed to believe that?" I asked, raising my sword up to his level, keeping the tip pointed at him.

"You don't HAVE to believe anything. I'm giving you the chance to see Henry, and its your choice whether you take the offer or not." He said, raising his hands in a defensive, yet dismissive, manner.

"Why?" I growled through bared teeth. I had no clue how his motives for me seeing Henry had suddenly reversed. He cocked his head.

"Because, you'd be an interesting addition to my game, and I don't mind if I have to change the rules. That just makes it all the more fun." He smirked once again. I gave him an incredulous look.

"You're insane!" I breathed out. He shrugged.

"Maybe, but I keep things interesting. Now, let's go show dear old Henry that you've arrived." He said, walking past me and my sword in the direction of his campfire. My mind was reeling. What could Pan possibly have planned that would flip everything around? I tucked my sword back into it's sheath and hesitantly followed him, glancing back up at the seemingly empty trees before staring at his back as he walked.

Peter may look at me like I'm a puzzle, but it was obvious that out of the two of us, he was the enigma.

When we finally reached the camp, my eyes bounced around every boy's face, searching for the one boy I had come here for. The only faces that seemed to be missing were Henry and Felix.

"Aaralyn!" I turned to my left and saw the twelve year old boy come running towards me, a smile brightening his face. All of the other boys who had been around the fire turned towards me, some standing up with perplexed expressions plastered on their faces. I guess that they were as confused as I was about Pan letting me in the camp.

"Henry!" I breathed out, crouching down so that I could fully hug him.

"I knew you'd come for me! I knew you'd keep your promise! Where's my family?" He asked, his eyes jumping around, looking for familiar faces. I frowned and his eyes almost instantly lost their glint.

"You didn't bring them?" His voice crushed my heart, every syllable echoing a cry of pain. I sighed.

"I got a little...busy." I said, shooting a glare at Pan. He crossed his arms across his chest. Henry backed away from me, sadness coating his features.

"I'm at least glad that you're here, but I thought they would come for me." He said dejectedly, walking back over to the same log that he had been sitting on when I promised to come back for him. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, knowing that Henry probably just wanted a little space right now.

Ignoring all of the stares that were directed at me, I sat up against a tree trunk that was close enough to Henry that he'd still have some space and I'd be able to keep an eye on him.

Worry ate it's way through my head.

Henry had been such a happy boy when he was with his family, and now he didn't even know if they were on the island. He was losing hope faster than I had thought he would. I hung my head, staring at the ground. I could relate to the feeling of hopelessness when separated from my family. Henry just needed a little time.

I had no doubt that his family would come for him, but they had better pick up the pace.

THIRD PERSON P.O.V.

Peter smirked; he could hardly believe the luck he was having. Henry had been glad to see Aaralyn, but he was still unconvinced that his family was here. After all, Aaralyn couldn't really prove it to him considering she didn't know for sure either.

Henry had gone back to his log, his previously depressed expression only slightly gone. Aaralyn had brought him hope, but it hadn't been enough, which meant that it was Peter's move in the game. He looked around the camp and watched as everyone besides the redhead and the twelve year old boy began to dance around the fire, joyous sounds now echoing around the camp as the lost boys began to celebrate. Pan grinned as Henry's welcome party commenced. Soon, he'd have everything he'd need to be able to succeed.

Peter slowly walked towards Henry, satisfied when he saw that Aaralyn was avoiding his eyes, continuing to stare at the ground. She may have been through hell, but nothing could've prepared her for how depressing her reunion with Henry would be, or how Peter was slowly consuming every last drop of hope that the boy possessed towards his family. Pan had to admit that she was brave, but being brave wasn't enough to beat him.

Henry's attention was focused on Pan when the lost boy sat on the log that sat in front of the one that Henry was sitting on, both of them facing each other.

"You don't want to join in the celebration Henry?" Peter asked, slowly pulling out his pan pipes from the best that hung around his waist, moving his fingers over the smooth wood while looking at Henry. Aaralyn eyed him warily, watching his every move with a suspicious look upon her face. Henry locked eyes with the boy in front of him, his back towards Aaralyn.

"Nothing to celebrate." He said, keeping up a calm demeanor even though he was truly heartbroken over his family. The cries of the lost boys raged on, growing even louder with every passing minute. Pan looked at Henry incredulously, as if Henry had missed something important.

"Nothing to celebrate? Henry, this whole party is to celebrate YOU." Peter said, smiling at the boy, keeping up his nice attitude towards him. Henry's eyebrows raised.

"Me. Why?" He asked. Pan let out a breath of laughter.

"Because you've come to save magic, of course." He explained, trying his hardest to get through to the boy. He had to get Henry to understand that he was the island's last hope, which was technically the truth. Peter leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, completely dismissing the look that crossed Henry's face that showed that Henry still had his doubts.

"And I, for one, can't think of a reason more deserving of a celebration than that." Peter said, not lying. Although there would be a far greater celebration that would take place if he were to come out of this successful.

"Just look at them." Peter said, glancing over at his lost boys. Henry obeyed Pan and looked back at the boys. Some of them were clanging sticks together while dancing, making the noise level much that much louder. Henry's eyes roamed in interest, completely unknowing that Aaralyn's eyes were gazing at him with concern, wondering what Pan was saying to him. Henry's gaze went back to Pan.

"I'm not like them." Henry said, sounding falsely confident, "or you." He said. Peter was taken aback, not believing a single word that escaped the small boy's mouth.

"Sure you are," he said, smiling at Henry, "you're still a boy." Pan stated. He looked down at the ground and sighed, and then back up at Henry. Peter grinned once again and brought his pan pipes closer to his mouth.

"Maybe a song will get you on your feet." Peter said. He moved his pan pipes towards his mouth and began to blow through them. Aaralyn's ears perked up, listening to the strange tune that escaped Pan's musical instrument. It was hauntingly beautiful and made her want to get up and dance. She slowly stood up, but stayed by her tree, fighting the urge to dance around the fire with the other boys. She had to keep her eyes on Henry. Peter's eyes immediately darted over to her, one of his eyebrows raising in interest as he continued playing the song.

"I'm sorry, I don't hear anything." Henry said, dragging Peter's attention back to him. Peter stared at the boy for a second and then looked down at the ground, a puzzled expression once again taking residence on his face. It had been effective towards Aaralyn, but not Henry, and Henry was the one he wanted the pipes to bloody work on. Peter brought the pipes away from his mouth.

"Interesting," He stated, looking from Henry to Aaralyn. She looked at him with a curious expression before slowly sinking back down onto the ground in her previous position. He turned his full focus back on the boy in front of him, "you see, this pipe's enchanted, Henry. It can only be heard by certain children." His gaze flickered back to the redhead for only a second.

"Like who?" Henry asked, genuinely curious. Peter was about to answer, but out of the corner of his eye he saw his right hand, Felix, approach the camp with a familiar look on his face as he pushed a couple lost boys out of his way. Aaralyn's eyes went to the hooded boy as well, following Pan's gaze. Felix didn't look pleased. He stopped by the fire, awaiting Peter.

"You'll find out soon enough," Pan said, now in a hurry to get to Felix, "I promise." Peter assured Henry before leaving him.

AARALYN'S P.O.V.

I looked back and forth between Henry and Pan, trying to decide whether to listen to what Pan was saying or go take my chances with Henry. After seeing Peter's face break out in anger towards Felix, I decided to choose the latter.

I stood and made my way over to Henry, taking over the spot that Peter had been sitting in.

"Hey." I said gently, trying to make eye contact. Henry slowly met my gaze with his big brown eyes. He spared me a small, halfhearted smile.

"Hi." He said, running one of his sleeves underneath his nose. I sighed and looked back over at Pan and then back to Henry.

"So, what were you and Peter talking about?" I asked casually, trying my best to only sound moderately interested. Henry looked down at his hands.

"He said that this celebration was for me; to celebrate that I'm going to save magic." Henry said. My brow immediately furrowed. Is that really what Peter was telling Henry?

"Is that all?" I asked, remembering the pan pipes that Peter had played. Henry shrugged.

"There wasn't really anything else. I mean, after we talked about saving magic, he pulled out these weird pipes and blew on them, but I didn't hear anything. He told me that only certain kids can hear it." He said. My eyes widened. I had heard the music, so what did that make me?

"What kind of kids?" I asked, now desperately involved in this conversation with Henry, no longer hiding how much I wanted to know. Henry looked down.

"I don't know. He didn't tell me before he went off to Felix. Why?" He asked, his eyes meeting mine once again. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Because I heard it." I whispered. Henry's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets.

"Really, what did it sound like?" He asked, his childlike curiosity making everything seem less overwhelming. It actually calmed me a little.

"Beautiful." I admitted, keeping my voice at a whisper. Henry looked at me, a worried glint in his eyes.

"Do you feel anything?" He asked. I shrugged, mirroring his action from earlier.

"I don't now, but I did feel something while he was playing the pipes." I said, confiding in Henry.

"What'd you feel?" His voice was giving away his nervousness.

"I felt...comfortable." I said, speaking the truth. When Peter had played those pipes, it had felt as if everything was going to be okay.

"It didn't hurt or anything?"

"Not at all." I said slowly, straining my brain by trying to think what the music meant.

I got distracted when I looked over and saw Peter talking to Felix in surprisingly loud hushed tones. Their voices were loud enough to hear, but not loud enough to understand the words they were saying. Peter suddenly glanced back over at Henry, whose back was turned. He didn't see Peter looking at him, but his brown eyes stayed on me.

"So you really don't know what kind of kids can hear the music?" I asked, talking to Henry while looking at Pan. Peter's olive gaze shifted to mine and a small smirk took over his face again.

"I have no clue." Henry said.

**Leave a review for my birthday? :P**


	9. Chapter 9

**You are are so incredibly amazing! Thank you for all of the love! Anyway, just wanted to say that you're all super attractive and I love you! **

**[Have I even done a disclaimer? Probably not...]**

**Disclaimer: TRUST ME, IF I OWNED ONCE UPON A TIME, I WOULDN'T KEEP QUIET ABOUT IT. XD I only own Aaralyn. That's it. Although, I'll willingly accept Peter any day. ;)**

I nodded at Henry, tearing my gaze away from Pan to look back at the preteen.

"Thanks Henry." I said, slowly standing up. Henry smiled at me and then looked back down at his hands. It was a sad sight to see such a brilliant boy so depressed. I brought one of my hands underneath Henry's chin, tilting it up so he was looking me back in the eyes.

"Don't you dare give up. Your family will come for you, Henry." I assured him. His eyes visibly brightened.

"You think so?" He asked, honestly wanting to know my opinion. I grinned at him, trying my best to lighten the mood around us.

"Of course." I said. We exchanged one last smile before I walked away, deciding to head back up to the tree houses, filled with new determination to somehow search for the Charmings. What if I was able to spot Henry's family from the top of one of the houses?

I passed the large party, walking straight through the center of it. I casually shoved some of the other boys so that they'd get out of my way, now in a hurry to get up to the houses. If Henry needed help to keep hope in his heart, then I would definitely provide whatever kind of assistance I could.

My feet quickly sped across the ground, closing the distance between me and where the tree houses should be. I didn't run, but I kept a steady pace that would get me to my destination soon enough.

Unfortunately, I hadn't even made it halfway before I heard almost completely silent footsteps following me. I sighed, but pushed on, already knowing who was tagging along with me like my own personal shadow. I paid no attention to him until I made it to where the ladder had been, knowing that I wouldn't be able to see the tree houses unless Peter permitted me.

"Where are you going?" Pan asked, clearly amused. He certainly seemed in a good mood for someone who had just been yelling at his friend.

"To bed," I said simply, not turning around to face him, "So, if you could show me the ladder, that would be immensely helpful." I hinted, waiting for him to say something else, but it never came. Instead, I felt someone step right next to me, our arms brushing, sending an electric feeling up my arm. I pushed it aside, knowing that I needed to focus on anything else right now.

The ladder slowly became visible, and I just muttered a 'thank you' before placing my hands and feet on different rungs of the ladder, climbing my way to the top without looking at the boy behind me.

When my feet touched the solid ground of one of the porches, I sluggishly walked over to my house, putting on a show by acting tired. I knew that Peter was still there, and I didn't want him to suspect too much by my sudden want to return to the houses after I had escaped them. Even I would be suspicious, if I was being honest.

I groggily opened the door to my tree house, stumbling inside before shutting the door tightly behind me.

I ran to the window in the back of the room, looking out of it, barely able to see through the thick foliage. I scanned as much forest as I could possibly lay my eyes on, eager to find some kind of clue as to where Henry's family was.

THIRD PERSON P.O.V.

Peter watched as Aaralyn made it to the top of the ladder and shut herself up in the house he had assigned her, not completely believing her story of being tired. She was up to something, and it made Peter feel uneasy knowing that whatever she was doing, it was right under his nose.

He rubbed his arm where it had made contact with Aaralyn's bare arm, a strange tingly feeling running through his nerves. It was an odd sensation that he didn't have an explanation for, but he liked it. He shook off that feeling and continued to stare up at the tree house that Aaralyn was in. If he wanted to really find out what Aaralyn was up to, he could just fly up there and burst through the door, but he wanted to see what she would do first; he wanted to be surprised. It had been so long since he had faced a challenge as complex as Aaralyn, but he couldn't help but wonder how he could turn the tables and use her to his advantage.

Smirking, he began to walk back to the fire, arriving back at Henry's celebration that seemed to be for everyone but Henry.

Felix was sitting before the fire, his usual somber look decorating his features. Peter sighed and sat down beside his companion, slapping his friend on the back to announce his presence.

"Don't look so glum Felix; we want Henry to feel comfortable around here, not intimidated." Peter stated, staring into the fire while once again fingering the pan pipes that hung at his side. When he touched them, he immediately thought of the expression Aaralyn had had when he tried to play them for Henry. She had heard them, there was no question about it.

"I'm far from 'glum', Peter," Felix said, smiling at his leader to confirm his claim, "I'm just confused." Pan ran a hand down his face.

"What has caused you confusion this time?" Peter asked, exasperated.

"Well, I'm not really sure what's going on around here. First, you led the girl into the Paths, watched her suffer, and then brought her back up here with us, straight to the boy you were trying to keep her away from." Felix explained.

Peter thought back to when Aaralyn had been in the Paths; she had constantly been assaulted by fear, courage, and adrenaline. However, when she had been forced to go through the forest that caused your worst memory to arise, he had learned something very useful; Aaralyn had a great reason to be upset with Regina, one of the mothers who were trying to stop him. Aaralyn could possibly be the answer to his problem with the magical Queen...if given the right encouragement.

It was obvious that she wouldn't want to take revenge on The Evil Queen of her own account. Peter could already tell that she wasn't really one to hold a grudge, even if the person did something unforgivable. Well, she still held one against him for keeping Henry, so, in his eyes, that made him special.

He smirked devilishly. If he could somehow awaken a dark side in Aaralyn, she would undoubtedly take revenge on the monarch, ridding him of an unnecessary nuisance on the playing field. But how would he be able to manipulate her?- She didn't seem like one who could easily be persuaded. Peter looked over at Felix.

"I'm keeping her here, Felix, because she has an important part to play in the game. It's hard to believe, I know, but she's going to eliminate one of the obstacles that stand between me," Peter took in a deep breath, "and immortality." He let out the words in a single breath, practically jumping from his seat at the thought. Living forever with magic on Neverland. What could be better?

"Care to tell me what that part is?"

"Mmm, not particularly. I don't want to spoil the surprise." Pan said, smirking while bringing his hands to clasp in front of him so that his elbows could rest on his knees. Felix rolled his eyes. He couldn't stay mad at Pan, but he could stay irritated with him. Felix was his most trusted lost boy, and the fact that Peter wasn't telling him something made him curious. Overly so.

"How do you know that she'll help us then?" Felix asked. At this question, Peter sighed and ran a hand through his dirty blond, almost brown, hair.

"Not willingly. She'll definitely need persuading."

"Then...persuade her." Felix stated, as if it was completely obvious. Pan took his turn rolling his eyes.

"I will. I just have to figure out how."

"We could always threaten Henry, maybe loved ones?" Felix grinned evilly, having learned the emotion from the best. Pan scoffed, completely dismissing the idea. He knew that Aaralyn would never believe that he would hurt Henry, and she didn't have any loved ones to threaten. Peter racked his brain.

He knew that he would be able to take out Regina himself...but that took the fun out of it. He had felt the rage Aaralyn had felt, even if it had only been for a slight moment, back in the Paths when her parents reprimanded her for not taking revenge. And the rage hadn't been directed at him OR her 'parents'. It had been completely towards Regina.

She just needed a nudge in the right direction in order to release that anger.

"Well, do you have any ideas?" Felix pushed.

Peter closed his eyes and let his thoughts run wild, remembering every detail of Aaralyn that he had learned. She had heard the pipes, so he could use that, but he wanted something bigger, something far more dangerous. Immediately his thoughts turned to the strange tingling he had felt when they touched and the way that Aaralyn always seemed to be a little uncomfortable when they were close. His eyes snapped open and one of his signature smirks worked its way onto his face. Oh, he had an idea alright.

"What?" Felix asked, knowing the look that Peter was wearing could only mean trouble. Pan faced his friend once more, his wide grin staying in place.

"I've got the perfect idea Felix. It's guaranteed to work." He said. Felix leaned forward, wishing for Peter to divulge his plan. Pan looked over at the pale blond before leaning forward as well so that the other boys wouldn't hear. Most of them were smart enough to not eavesdrop in the first place, but you could never be too careful.

Felix's eyes widened when Peter told him of his plan on how to get Aaralyn on his side. Felix chuckled.

"She's certainly got a couple surprising days coming for her." Felix said, smiling. Peter laughed, knowing that there was no better way to put it than the way that Felix had just stated. Aaralyn most definitely had a shock coming her way.

AARALYN'S P.O.V.

I was going to die of boredom.

My legs hung over the side of the window lazily while I sat on the window sill, keeping my eyes peeled. I had no idea how long I had been sitting here, but it had, at the least, been a couple of hours. If we had been back in Storybrooke, it would most definitely be the middle of the night.

There were no sounds echoing through the forest except for the faint cries of the lost boys; they had been cheering non-stop ever since I had left the camp. I wouldn't be surprised if they never stopped.

Needless to say, it had grown tedious to keep a lookout for a family that I couldn't see at the time. I knew that they were here, but it was a big island, and I couldn't watch every area simultaneously. I couldn't stop though, because every time the option of quitting for the night entered my mind, I remembered Henry's disappointed face when I had shown up here alone. He needed his family.

I sighed and looked at the large tree that the majority of this house sat in. It was incredibly enormous and had branches shooting off in every which way. I had to get out of this confined house for the rest of the night. Desperate for something to do in addition to searching for the Charmings, I jumped from my window down onto a branch right below me, landing firmly on my black converse. I cautiously began to walk from branch to branch, trying my best to get a better view of the forest from my position.

The leaves on every limb of the tree would rustle slightly when I added my weight to their individual branches, making a quiet whispering sound that I welcomed warmly. Anything was better than the constant cheers of the lost boys at this point. I walked as far out as I could on a branch until I broke through the thick line of leaves; I finally had a clear view of the forest before me. Once I had escaped from the cover of the leaves, I let out a breath. The view was absolutely beautiful. The large green forest below and beyond me was a dark green hue that had an otherworldly beauty to it. It was mystical, to be honest. However, my favorite part of this view was the large navy blue ocean that glittered in the moonlight. I had no reason to fear the water up here, and that made me capable of admiring the gorgeousness of the island's ocean. It was nice to enjoy something so simple as a view.

Making sure that my feet had a secure grip on the bark beneath my feet, I closed my eyes, enjoying the cool breeze that always seemed to run through Neverland. For a moment, just a moment, I forgot all that had happened while I had been here, pretending that I was just outside to enjoy the wonders and beauty of nature. Letting out a deep breath, I slowly let my eyelids flutter open, admiring the white light that radiated off of the moon and the bright stars that decorated the night sky. This place really was breathtaking. Too bad that my illusions of this place had already been crushed by a boy and various things trying to kill me before I had been able to take a break and just...breathe.

One of the things I did like about this island, however, was that it had made me a survivor. I had had my first taste of danger, and it was almost..thrilling...if you ignored all the times I had almost quite seriously died. Images of the Paths would haunt me forever, that much I knew.

I moved my head slowly from side to side, continuing my search. I just hoped that the Charmings would get her quickly, because I honestly had no idea how I'd be able to escape Peter with Henry. Pan wouldn't be easy to run away from anyway though because...well this was his island, and I was quite positive that he knew every inch of it. So, for now I had stick it out with Henry and keep his head up. He needed to believe in his family, but I could tell that the belief he currently had was dwindling.

Feeling my eyelids slowly start to droop, I decided to do what I had told Peter I was going to do when I came up here the second time; I was going to go to bed. I didn't want to stop searching, but my scavenge for the Charmings was fruitless, or at least for the time being. Besides, I would be no good to Henry if I was low on energy because of exhaustion. He needed me to be ready, and I didn't plan on disappointing him anytime soon.

I turned around on the branch and began to walk back to the large tree house, climbing through the window. I strolled over to the furs in the corner and slowly sat down, letting my exhaustion catch up with me. It felt like a large weight was weighing down each of my eyelids to the point where, when I completely relaxed them, they were practically shut.

Stretching out on the furs, I nuzzled my face in the one beneath me, trying to get comfortable. At last, I fell into a deep sleep, letting go of all my tumultuous thoughts.

My eyes snapped open, completely alert. Loud shouts were seeping through the wood of the house, echoing throughout the room I was in. I groaned and pulled one of the furs over my head, not quite ready to get up yet.

"Aaaaaggghhh!" I immediately jumped up to my feet, securing my sword on my side. The heat from the furs left me, exposing my bare arms to the cool breeze, but I didn't care. I shot through the door, needing to find out where that boyish yell had come from.

My feet pounded against the wood, moving as quickly as they were able to, across the bridges and porches that connected the houses. I raced to the porch that had the ladder leading down to the ground. While I was running, I noticed that there still wasn't any sunlight decorating the island. It always seemed to be night, and I knew that I had slept long enough to where there should at least be a sunrise because I felt completely energized, all signs of tiredness gone.

The wood of the ladder felt rough between my fingers, but I hastily climbed down them, skipping rungs so that I'd be able to reach the bottom quicker.

Right when my feet hit the ground, I darted off in the direction of the camp, expecting to find someone hurt or dead, judging by the intensity of the scream. Leaves flew up from the ground around me, showing just how fast I was running. Was Henry hurt? Had it been his yelp?

The wind rushed through my hair, making it fly behind me like a wildfire. I kept my breathing as steady as I could while I continued to sprint, desperate to get to the camp.

"Henry!" I called, sounding positively nervous. With a sigh of relief, I made it to where the lost boys had been partying last night. My eyes bugged out of their sockets, completely amazed at the sight before me.

All of the lost boys gathered in a circle, except for Henry, and were...I rubbed the palm of my hand across my face. They were such dudes. Every lost boy, including Pan, seemed to be engaging in the old sport of arm wrestling. This was ridiculous.

"Aaaaaggghhh, why do you always win me?!" I looked in the direction of the voice and saw Devin, who was glaring at Felix from across the log that they had been arm wrestling on. Anger boiled up in me when I saw Devin; he and that other kid had chased me into the Paths. I took in a deep breath and brushed off the urge to just kick him in the face; it'd be easy considering he was on his knees to arm wrestle.

Deciding to do something far more productive, but most likely less satisfying, I began to walk over to where Henry was sitting. He looked so alone. At times I would see his eyes light up at the boys' activities, but he never wanted to really enjoy them like a normal twelve year old boy would. I was about to sit next to him when a voice spoke up.

"Aaralyn! Glad to see you've decided to join us." I turned and glared at Peter. He had undoubtedly just won an arm wrestle between another lost boy because a victorious expression was plastered onto his face. I nodded.

"Yeah, sure." I said dismissively. All I wanted to do was just have a chat with Henry. I wanted to provide him with an ally, a friend.

"Care to join in with the fun?" He asked, although I could tell it was a challenge. I raised an eyebrow.

"Not particularly, no." I sat down next to Henry, but kept my eyes on Pan.

"Mmm yeah, you'd probably lose anyway, so what's the point really?" I fought the strong sensation of letting out my laughter. I saw what he was trying to do and it wouldn't work.

"Exactly. I'm glad we understand one another." I said, sending a wink Henry's way when I saw him smile at me. He probably understood what Peter was doing too, smart kid. Peter chuckled and just stretched his arms over his head.

"See boys? I told you that she wouldn't want to play."

"Go beat him." Henry whispered to me. I looked at the twelve year old in shock. There was something in his eyes that made me a little suspicious.

"What? Why?"

"No one's won him yet and it's getting extremely annoying to hear him brag about it. I would try but," he looked at the ground, "I'm not really in the mood. Win him for me?" Henry asked, pleading with his eyes. I scoffed and looked back in forth between Peter, who was arm wrestling a different kid now, and Henry, who was asking me to go win the presumed champion.

"I could try, but I really don't think that I'll win, and that'd only serve to egg him on even more; it'd fuel his gloating needs." I let out. Henry sighed.

"Could you at least try?" He asked, his voice sounding so small. What was happening to this kid. I looked into his chocolate eyes for a moment, searching to find that suspicious glint I had seen earlier, but it was gone.

"Only if you promise not to be so down. Your family is coming Henry, so don't worry about that. You just need to focus on having faith in them. Do we have a deal?" I asked, sticking out one of my hands. Henry stared at the hand for a moment, and then hesitantly shook it, a slight smile breaking out.

"Deal. Now go and try and beat him for me." He said, sounding a little happier than when I had first come over here. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath.

"You better keep your end of the deal. No more of this moping." I said, intending to sound light, but it came out as a sort of plea. Henry nodded.

"I will."

"Fine." I said, standing up from the log we had been sitting on. Henry smiled up at me again and I took one last calming breath before walking over to where the boys were arm wrestling. This was all incredibly laughable. Peter was trying to take Henry's heart and become all powerful, yet he still had it in him to arm wrestle. Idiot.

I strolled to where Peter was currently going up against another boy. The other boy seemed to be doing pretty well, but Pan was slowly inching the boy's hand towards the log. Not caring that they were in the middle of a match, I approached Peter and the other boy. When neither of them looked away from their game to notice my presence, I inwardly sighed. I pushed the boy that Peter was going up against away from the log, making his hand unattatch itself from Peter's in shock. He looked up at me from the ground.

"What'd you do that for?"

"Oh, you were losing anyway." I bit out, getting on my knees so that I was level with Peter's face, separated only by the log in between us. Peter smirked, looking completely smug. I blew a piece of my red hair out of my face and put my elbow on the log, hand ready.

"Deciding to play after all? Why the change of heart?" He asked, also placing his elbow on the log. He didn't clasp our hands yet though. Somehow, I was feeling nervous about that. I always felt nervous whenever we made contact, but I'd be damned if I was going to show it.

"Henry wanted me to." I stated simply.

"Why doesn't he want to play for himself?"

"He's not feeling like it. Now, shut up and let's get this over with." I sighed out, just ready to try my hardest and then most likely lose. However, if just playing a round with Peter would make Henry lighten up, then I would do it. Pan scoffed at my tone, but complied with demand.

My eyebrows raised when he intertwined our fingers rather than just clasping our hands like he had with the boys. Little shocks ran through my hand and it made me want to just run away from Pan, grab Henry like a football, and hightail it out of the camp. I had no clue what the little tingles meant, but I wasn't willing to just accept them.

"That's not how you're supposed to do it." I mumbled, looking up at him. He was wearing a smirk on his face and had a challenging glint in his eyes.

"Trust me, I know." He said quietly. His voice sent shivers down my spine and I immediately adjusted so that he wouldn't notice. Sadly, I knew that he had seen when his smirk grew even more...devious. I widened my bright green eyes and clicked my tongue.

"Alrighty then, just making sure." I got a better grip on his hand, noticing how our fingers fit perfectly together. It was disgusting.

"Okay, ready?" He asked, keeping his voice at that irritability low voice that sent another shiver down my spine. I shook my head.

"Whatever, Pan. Just go." I said. He let out a breath of laughter and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Brace yourself, Aaralyn."

"Oh my gosh, just start. Stop talking about it and just...do it." I motioned towards our hands with my free hand. His hand tightened around mine.

"Go." Immediately I put pressure against his hand, going against the force of his hand. Dang, he was much stronger than he looked. Unless he was using magic...

"I swear Peter, if you're cheating..."

"Would I ever?" I gave him an incredulous look and he just laughed, continuing to push on my hand. I kept applying pressure, but he only seemed to gain strength as we went on. I bit my lip and used whatever was remaining of my strength to push against his hand. I finally had made us even, both of us struggling to push the other's hand down.

Out of the corners of my eyes I noticed that we had attracted the attention of the other lost boys, the majority of them staring at the match between Pan and I.

Both of our hands began to shake, but I looked up at him and saw that Peter looked completely calm and unaffected by our intense arm wrestling. Suddenly, his thumb began to slowly stroke my hand, making even more sparks fly up my arm. It was almost intoxicating, but I continued to push on. We finally got to the point where we were both running out of energy.

Peter's hand tightened on mine, but his thumb kept on stroking my hand, making me feel uneasy. Distracted by the feeling, Peter slammed my hand down on the log, making a rush of pain run through it. I held in the small whimper that wanted to escape from the force of Peter's win. It hurt, a lot, but I wasn't the type to whine about an aching hand. I would hold it in.

I immediately pulled my hand out of his grip, sighing when the warmth from his hand was taken away, removing the shocks in the process. It felt nice...but disappointing at the same time. I rolled my eyes. I was just disappointed that I hadn't won. Peter had probably used magic; that would explain the tingling that had run through my hand. It made a lot more sense too.

"Congrats." I said, shaking my hand out to try to eliminate the pain from the log. He stood up to his full height and I immediately followed suit, looking over at Henry. The boy shrugged and then gave me a thumbs up. I returned the gesture and was about to walk over to Henry.

"You were a worthy opponent, Aaralyn." Peter said, once again smirking at me. I just gave him a nod to show him that I acknowledged his words. Then, looking back at Henry, I walked back over to the boy and sat down next to him once again.

"Thanks for trying, Aaralyn."

"No problem." I said, narrowing my eyelids when my bright green eyes made contact with a pair of olive ones a short distance away. Peter kept his smug expression and let his gaze linger on me before he turned away to face yet another one of the other boys. I sighed in relief when his intense stare left mine.


	10. Chapter 10

**You all rock my socks! I love you all! :3**

**So, a little news...I may not be able to update next week due to stuff I have to do. I know, lame excuse, but I really do have to do stuff. XD Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

"So is he really strong?" Henry asked, looking over at me. I picked up a couple leaves from the ground and began to twirl them in between my fingers by the stem. I shrugged.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty convinced that he used magic to win." I bit out, almost angry at Peter. It's not like I didn't have a right to be mad at him. He'd certainly deserved the hostility.

"What makes you say that?" Henry asked, sounding...a little more curious than I liked. I continued staring at the leaves in my hand, not wanting to meet the twelve year old's eyes.

"Because his grip felt...weird."

"Weird how?" I sighed and dropped the leaves, putting my hands on my knees while locking eyes with Henry. He didn't look any different, but his tone made me suspicious. I shook my head. Henry was the only companion I had in this camp so it would do me no good not to trust him. I shrugged once again.

"It was...tingly." I said hesitantly, unsure of what the boy would say. He nodded his head.

"You're right. It was probably magic." He confirmed. I sighed, thankful that he thought so too. If Henry, The Evil Queen's adopted son, said that it was magic, then I had no reason to doubt his judgement. He knew more about magic than I did, despite the fact that I was five years his senior. I chuckled.

"It's sad that he has to use magic to appear stronger than he is. Poor boy." I said, trying to keep the mood light. Henry chuckled too, but it didn't sound as real as mine had.

"Yeah." He said. I looked over at him, keeping my grin on.

"Well, remember your end of the deal?" He raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yes..." I gently gave him a shove towards the group of boys arm wrestling. I was desperate for him to do something that wasn't depressing to watch.

"Your turn to challenge Pan. You promised me that you wouldn't be as moody anymore, so it's time that you loosen up a little. Your family will be here soon, I know it. I can feel it." I said, meaning every word. It's not that I wanted to encourage Henry to go play with the other boys, but I couldn't stand to watch him in silence anymore. He had always been smiling back at Storybrooke, and if arm wrestling other boys could even partially bring back that smile then I definitely wanted him to take part in the activities. He looked between me and Pan hesitantly.

"What if he uses magic on me?" He asked. I thought about that for a moment, but came to the safe conclusion that the only magic Peter would use against Henry right now, if he used any, wouldn't be harmful. I gently wrapped my arm around Henry's shoulders and pulled him to me in a hug. He didn't mind, in fact, he hugged me tighter than I did to him.

"If he uses magic then it'll probably be to beat you in arm wrestling since you're so strong." I said, joking around. Henry laughed. A real, genuine laugh.

"Sure, whatever you say." He said, releasing me and then standing up. Before he left to go, I gently grabbed his arm.

"If he DOES use magic though, tell me." I said. I wanted to know if it was just me he was using it on. Although, I doubt he'd need to use it on Henry considering that the boy wasn't really that strong physically. Peter could probably beat him easily, but still...I wanted to know. Henry nodded and turned to walk towards the boys.

I scoffed when I heard the boys cheer at Henry's arrival. I knew it was all an act arranged by Pan, but I'm not sure if Henry did.

Peter quickly beat the boy he was wrestling- Devin, I think- and turned towards the boy.

"Henry! You've finally decided to play for yourself!" Peter said warmly, smiling at the kid. I couldn't see Henry's face but I'm assuming he smiled back at the eighteen year old. Peter gestured for Henry to sit across from him on the other side of the log. Henry complied and awkwardly put his elbow on the log, hand ready. I still couldn't see his face, but he must've looked nervous based on Pan's next words.

"Relax, it's fun. So, what made you join in?" Peter asked, clasping his and Henry's hands WITHOUT intertwining their fingers. I grit my teeth at the annoying git. Henry scratched his head with his free hand.

"Aaralyn convinced me that it'd be fun if I did." Henry answered. Really? I'd convinced him that it was fun? I threw myself an inner party. At least he wanted to do things now. Peter raised an eyebrow at the boy and looked over at me. I conveniently avoided his gaze, pretending to look up at the sky through the leaves.

"Did she really?" Pan asked, sounding skeptical. Henry shrugged.

"Yup. She said that I needed to stop being so moody around here." Henry said, his voice quiet. I knew that he hadn't been hurt by my words, but I'm sure that he was still feeling a little down.

"I'll have to personally thank her later then." Peter said, drawing his voice out, making sure that I could hear. Oh really. I scoffed and then tried to turn it into a normal cough, but even I wasn't convinced by my performance. I reluctantly met Peter's eyes and saw that he was shooting a grin my way. I rolled my own eyes and returned my gaze to the back of Henry's head, still feeling Pan's eyes on me. Henry stayed silent and started to adjust in his position, obviously anxious.

"Are we going to arm wrestle?" Henry asked, snapping Pan out of his unnerving 'stare at Aaralyn' moment. I thanked the heavens for letting Henry be in this place with me.

Pan grinned at Henry.

"Yup. Ready..one...two...three!" I looked away, uninterested in the arm wrestling match or who won, convinced that the victor would be Peter. My assumption was proven to be correct not moments later when the group of boys all made the same sound.

"Ooh!" They all said. Later I heard Pan's voice.

"Good try Henry. Why don't you go up against Ryker?- he's new here too." I looked back over and saw Henry nod, and when he turned his head towards Ryker, I saw that there was an actual smile on his face. My eyebrows raised. Do guys really get this excited?

"Okay, hold on." Henry said. He ran over to me quickly, a confused expression on his face.

"Pan didn't use any magic on ME. I didn't even feel my hand tingle." He said. I sighed, knowing that this had been bound to happen. I ruffled Henry's hair, putting on another act.

"Well maybe you're not as strong as I thought." I joked around. Henry rolled his eyes.

"Oh whatever." He said, smiling before he ran off to Ryker...the other boy who had chased me into the hole. Peter already had corrupted the young ones to do his dirty work.

I closed my eyes and put my head in my hands, threading my fingers through my hair. My mind went back to the images of my parents. They had been so angry at me, and even though they weren't real, it hurt. It hurt to even think that my parents would be disappointed in me all because I'd never taken revenge. I didn't want to, settling on just saving Henry...but what if my parents really did want it? I shook my head, brushing off the burst of hatred I suddenly felt towards The Evil Queen. She had caused all of this, but I didn't want to stoop down to her level.

"Aaralyn." I sighed and looked up, immediately recognizing the voice.

"What?" I groaned out, just wanting to be left alone for a while. I needed time to think, and I certainly wasn't going to get a lot of that done with him around.

He chuckled and sat next to me on my log, our thighs touching. I once again blamed the tingling sensation that ran through my body on the magic that Peter had.

"Thank you for getting Henry to play, Aaralyn." He said, sounding completely smug with himself. I put my head back in my hands, letting my red hair fall around my face like a curtain.

"I didn't do it for you, so stop acting like it." I said. I completely froze when I felt his hand run through my hair. He tucked a few pieces behind my ear so that my face was visible, but his hand continued to brush pieces of my hair around, his fingers tangling themselves in the strands. He kept his eyes on my hair, avoiding eye contact, and then suddenly let his fingers fall out and back onto his lap.

I was almost disappointed when his fingers left my hair, but I wasn't about to stop him from taking his hand away. I gave him a weird look but he only smirked. Wait. Was he playing with me right now?

"I never said that you did it for me."

"You implied it with your tone." I said, letting my hair fall back over my face so I wouldn't have to look at him. I began to slowly scoot away from him so he wouldn't be able to touch my hair again. I believed in personal space bubbles, and it was pretty obvious that Peter had never even heard of such a thing.

"Oh? What tone of mine could possibly imply anything?" He said, lowering his voice significantly, implying something else entirely. A shudder ran down my spine and I grit my teeth in anger. Why in the hell did he have this affect on me?

"Just stop." I said, emotion going from angry to tired. I didn't want to play his little one sided game, and acting angry would only encourage the demon inside him.

"Stop what?" He asked, making his voice sound innocent. I warily looked up at him through my curtain of hair. His eyebrow was raised in mock curiosity. He shifted so that he was closer to me once again.

Sighing, I whipped my head back up so that my hair returned to its position on my back. I stood up and moved to the log opposite of him so that he couldn't keep getting closer like he had been.

"Nothing. Just, forget it." I said, out of patience. He rested his elbows on his knees like I was and leaned forward so that our heads were only a short distance away. This time I didn't physically react by moving away. I raised my own eyebrows in confusion.

"What are you doing?" I asked, no emotion in my voice. I had no clue what was going on and I had a very strong feeling that told me I should find out. He laughed.

"I'M not doing anything except for trying to find out why you really came to this island. What are YOU doing?" He asked. I kept steady contact with his eyes.

"I'M trying to figure out why you've been invading my personal space lately, because, I'll be honest, it's starting to get annoying. And as for why I 'really came to this island', I already told you. I'm here to protect Henry until his family comes for him." I said, never blinking. Peter let out a laugh under his breath.

"I really don't think that me getting in your personal space is annoying you Aaralyn, so you can stop trying to fool yourself into thinking it does," he said, pausing. I scowled at him but he continued, "and what exactly are you going to do once Henry's family DOES come, hmm?" He asked, his eyes piercing my own. I shut my mouth tightly and continued our little stare off.

"Listen, I don't know what game you're playing, or trying to play, with me, but I'm not in the mood for it." I said, completely dismissing the last part of his words, because, honestly, I had no clue as to what I would do when Henry's family would come. If it came down to it, I would stay here and fight Peter while Henry and his family made their escape. I had nothing waiting for me back at Storybrooke, so, seeing as I had nothing to lose, I would make the sacrifice to stay behind if necessary. The only thing that I was dreading if it really was needed for me to stay in Neverland, was that I'd have to be here with the lost boys...and Peter.

However, if I got the 'okay' to come back to Storybrooke from Emma and them, then I would most certainly tag along. This place gave me the creeps.

Peter shook his head, keeping his smirk on. Did that expression EVER leave his face?

"You're not in the mood to play?" He asked, scooching forward so that he was closer to me.

"That is what I just said."

"Well, I'm sorry to inform you Aaralyn, but...you're already playing." He said, his voice once again changing back to the tone that said that he thought he was winning. I wanted to rip that voice out of his throat, throw it on the fire ashes, and then dance on it so that it'd never see the light of day again. My eyes narrowed.

"And what game, exactly, am I already playing?" I asked, deciding to humor him. One corner of his mouth twitched upwards.

"I'm trying to see how long it'll take you to give in to me, and I must admit, you're holding out pretty well so far. It's a shame that that won't last long." He said. I let out a disbelieving laugh.

"What, do you think I'm just going to throw myself at you?" I asked, challenging him. The nerve of this boy. I had far more self control AND self respect than to just succumb to him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Eventually." My mouth dropped open in utter disbelief. I threw my arms up in the air in exasperation.

"Why in the world would I EVER do a thing like that? I don't even like you." I said, biting out the last words while sending him a death glare. He chuckled, but it was completely humorless.

"We'll just have to test that, won't we?" He whispered, getting closer. I immediately stood up, getting away from Peter. I'll admit, he's very attractive, and for some weird reason he has an affect on me, but that DOES NOT mean that I liked him. He really was delusional. This proved it.

I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated. His eyes stayed on me from his position on the log, never looking away. He was certainly confident about all of this. I opened my mouth to say something, but quickly shut it again, unsure of what to say.

"Just...get out of here." I said, pointing back towards the boys. I needed time to think about anything but him. He complied with my request, but on his way towards the boys his hand brushed my waist and I felt heat radiate from where he had touched me. I glared at him, but he only smirked and turned around, continuing towards where the boys were still playing that stupid game.

When he was out of hearing distance, I groaned and sat back down on the log, ready to just rip my hair out of my scalp. I sat there and let my anger boil until it became rage. The notion that I would ever give into him was laughable. He wanted to see how long I would last? Well, it's a good thing we're on Neverland because otherwise, he'd die of old age before I ever even let myself hold his hand.

My angry gaze flickered over to him and I clenched my teeth when I saw that he was looking right back at me, that same mischievous glint in his eyes. He smirked before going back to arm wrestling. It was decided. I officially hated Peter Pan.

I rested my chin into one of my hands, silently watching the boys dance around the fire just like they had the day before. They had abandoned their previous game of arm wrestling and had automatically switched to their normal activity of jumping around the fire like monkeys. What possessed them to do that I'd never understand, but I was sure to keep my eyes off of Peter for the rest of the night.

Whether I wanted to or not, I was playing this game, and I was fully prepared to win if only to see that smug look fall right off of his face. I closed my eyes, envisioning him with a scowl on his face rather than a smirk. It was probably the best day dream I've ever had.

I opened my eyes and liked to my left, where Henry was sitting right next to me on the log. I didn't encourage him to go play with the boys this time, because, to be frank, the way that the boys danced weirded me out more than it should've, and I didn't want to see Henry do anything like that.

Henry kept his eyes down on the ground, also refusing to look at the boys. I didn't blame him. I sighed and moved my chin to my other hand.

Suddenly, a cold rush of wind ran over the camp, blowing out the fire and disturbing the dirt on the ground beneath us. My eyelids fluttered shut and I slowly felt myself slide to the ground.

THIRD PERSON P.O.V.

Pan shielded himself from the flying dirt, unsure of what was going on. Everyone had dropped to the ground at the same time, including Henry and Aaralyn, and that could only mean one thing. Someone had cast a sleeping curse that only he was immune to. He shook his head and laughed to himself.

He pushed up off of the log he had been sitting on and smiled.

"We have a guest," he said, talking to himself. He began to pace around the camp, "No doubt someone who knows how much I like guessing games. Who could it be?" He asked himself, amused by what was happening. He stopped with his back to a large tree so that he was looking at the entrance of the camp. A figure was standing completely still right where he was looking.

"I guess..." He lifted his hand, causing the fire to come to life once again. The figure was immediately illuminated, "The Dark One." Peter finished, clenching his teeth. He really didn't want to put up with this cowardly man right now. He had much more important things to do with his time. A slight rustling in the bushes came from his left, alerting him that he was not alone with Rumplestiltskin.

"Come to save Henry, have you laddie? How exciting. The Dark One ready to sacrifice his life for his family" Peter said, sounding mildly amused. Rumple just stood there, staring at the boy before him.

"Speaking of family," Peter turned his head to his left and made a motion with his hand that caused a torch that outlined the camp to turn on, "you can come out now Baelfire."

Neal immediately came out from behind the tree that was directly behind the torch that had just lit itself. He was holding a crossbow, aiming it straight towards the teenager.

"Name's Neal now." He said, stepping closer to his father while keeping the crossbow on its target. Pan kept his arms at his sides, his gaze travelling from Bae to Rumple.

"New name but the same old tricks. It's heartwarming to see father and son working together," his attention fixed onto The Dark One, "especially after you abandoned him, Rumple." Peter reveled in the fact that his comment had hit home. He was trying to manipulate them, turn them against each other, and so far, he was off to a wonderful start. Rumple's stare became cold.

"This is an interesting reunion." Peter said, smiling once again. Rumple grit his teeth and directed his next words at Neal without taking his gaze away from Pan.

"What are you waiting for?" He asked, clearly impatient. Peter's attention went back over to Bae, curiosity lightly sprinkling over his features. Neal never looked at his father, but kept his crossbow aimed at Peter's heart.

"I've got this." Neal said. An arrow launched from the crossbow, heading straight towards Peter. Luckily, Peter reacted quick enough and grabbed the shaft of the arrow when the tip was only centimeters away from his chest. He let out a deep breath, his hand firmly grasping the arrow in rage. Did they think that they could just walk in here and play the heroes? Did they think that they could just kill him? Oh, it'd take far more than a measly arrow to accomplish that. He saw that after the arrow had been shot, Bae let his arms fall so that the crossbow no longer marred his vision and Rumple kept his impassive eyes on the teen. Peter smiled once again, slowly turning to face the fire while keeping the arrow in his grasp.

"Clever, but we've been through this before, Baelfire," he said, practically scolding the former lost boy for his foolishness, "Have you remembered nothing?" He asked. Neal adjusted the strap that his crossbow was hanging on, keeping his eyes focused on the simple task.

"I remembered plenty," Neal said. Peter threw the arrow down to the ground in disgust, feeling a strange sensation begin to travel through his fingers, "That's why I didn't coat the tip." Neal finished. Pan stared at his hand in shock as he found that he could no longer move. A strange purplish glow began to emanate from his palm.

"Grab Henry." Rumple gave his son an encouraging pat on the back while they both sprang into action. Peter looked from his hand to the two men who were walking over to their fallen son/ grandson and Aaralyn.

"Well how about that. I'm impressed." Peter stated, telling the truth. He couldn't remember the last time that he had been tricked like this. Neal threw his son over his shoulder and glanced down at the unfamiliar girl that was lying on the ground.

"We take her too; she jumped in after Henry to save him." Rumple explained, remembering that Emma had said that Aaralyn had jumped into the portal after Henry. He gently picked up the unconscious redhead, leaving Henry to Bae, wondering why Pan had kept her if he only needed Henry.

"Are you sure you're really saving them, Bae?" Peter asked, using his birth given talent of manipulation against the two men who were attempting to take Henry and Aaralyn away from him. Neal looked Peter straight in the eyes.

"What could be worse than leaving them here with you?" He asked, completely serious. Rumple nervously looked over at Pan before adjusting the girl in his arms. Pan kept his eyes on the redhead for a moment before looking back over at Neal.

"Why don't you ask your father?" He urged, his gaze flickering over to the infamous Dark One. Neal looked over at Rumple, clearly confused, before looking back over to Peter, his eyes asking the boy to explain. Peter was more than willing to oblige.

"Sometimes the people that we should fear most are the ones closest to us." He said, looking over at Rumple before returning to Bae. Neal closed his eyes in confusion, but almost immediately opened them.

Neal glanced at his father.

"What's he talking about?" He asked, Peter's words already getting to him. He wasn't sure why, but he trusted that Pan really did have something important to say...and so did his father. The question was, who would tell him first?

"Don't listen to him." Rumplestiltskin dismissed, keeping his eyes locked onto Peter's. Pan smirked.

"You mean, you haven't told him?" He asked, enjoying every second of this. This was what he had wanted, and he wasn't going to stop now.

"Told me what?" Bae asked his father. He didn't receive an answer so Peter filled him in.

"Why, about the prophecy, of course." Peter informed him, keeping that smirk plastered on his face. Neal looked completely baffled now.

"What prophecy? What's he mean?" Neal asked, begging his father to tell him. He had thought that they were past all of this lying between the two of them, but with every second that ticked by without him receiving an answer, let alone a glance, from his father, he realized that this wasn't true.

"The prophecy that says you've been tricked." Both set of eyes turned to the teenager that knew far too much for anyone's liking. Now Bae was pleading with Peter using his eyes, asking him to just make everything clear.

"Your father isn't here to rescue your son," Peter said, letting out a deep breath, "He's here to murder him." He finished, looking triumphant. He knew that the truth would most definitely put a barrier between father and son once more. Neal clenched his teeth, but said no more on the matter. He would not have this talk with his father in front of Pan.

"And the girl? Why wouldn't she be safe with us?" He asked, praying that Pan wouldn't throw another life altering prophecy his way. Peter smirked once again, his face being the only thing that was able to move.

"Oh, she's practically one of us now, so I can guarantee that she'd fight you just to get back here," Pan lied, "After all, what's waiting for her back at Storybrooke? She's got no-one but herself to depend on. But here, we're a family. I'm sure you can recall everything about that Bae." Peter said, staring straight at the former lost boy before he adverted his gaze to the unconscious redhead. He really didn't want Aaralyn to go with Neal and Rumple, because then she would, without a doubt, tell them the real danger that Henry was in; she would tell them how Pan needed the boy's heart to survive.

Neal narrowed his eyes.

"Some family. Leave her here." Neal said before turning around and walking into the bushes behind him, heading into the forest. Rumple sent Peter a skeptical look before gently placing the teenage girl onto the ground. He stood back up to his full height and directed the coldest look he possessed in the smug boy's direction before stalking away into the forest after his son.

When The Dark One was gone, Peter's gaze immediately darted to the fallen girl, dirt covering half of her face. He went through far too much trouble to just keep her here, especially when she caused nothing but trouble for him. However, the fact that she had a debt to pay to The Evil Queen made her a wonderful pawn in his game, and he was completely confident that he'd win the game between the two of them.

Peter sighed when he finally regained feeling in his feet and legs. He stayed perfectly still until the rest of his body had returned back to his normal state. He clenched both of his hands into fists before closing his eyes, taking in a deep breath.

It was time to get Henry back.

Before waking up any of his boys, Peter strode over to Aaralyn and picked her up, one of his arms beneath her legs and the other arm beneath her back, clutching her like someone would a small child. He looked down at her before carrying her back over to where she had been sitting prior to the interruption that Rumple and Neal had caused. He propped her body up against the log and gently wiped the dirt off of her face using his thumb. Her skin was soft beneath his fingertip, and he kept his attention focused on her peaceful face. He smirked when he thought about how he was going to use her to get what he wanted. She would never even figure out that he was exploiting her before it was too late.

After putting Aaralyn back into position so that she wouldn't suspect anything when she woke up, Peter walked over to his lost boys and slowly used magic to wake each of them up individually. When they had all risen he gathered them up.

"Henry has been taken from us, and it's time that we get him back." Peter said, using his authoritative voice. A loud cry of agreement came from the boys, causing a devious smile to grace Pan's features.

"Let's head out." He said, sending the sleeping girl one last glance before heading into the forest with his lost boys to go get their savior back.


End file.
